is tried, he is a buckler, I believe it says, to those who trust in him. And then it goes on to say, it is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect. And so that's certainly a fitting message as we conclude the life of Joseph. Certainly as we look at Joseph's life, we can say as for God, his way is perfect. And ultimately God made Joseph's way perfect. His perfect will was fulfilled in Joseph's life. Well this morning we're back in Genesis chapter 49 and we're dealing with this prophecy of Jacob that he gives concerning his sons, this patriarchal blessing. but it's also a prophecy as he looks into the future for each of the 12 tribes of Israel and we started looking at this last Sunday night and we want to continue with it this morning but there will be a real emphasis on Joseph because we're going to study amongst Jacob's comments about some of the other sons these wonderful verses that Jacob or these wonderful words that Jacob speaks about the life of his son Joseph. so we're going to read this morning from verse 13, we got up to verse 12 in the last lesson but we're going to read from verse 13 and down to the end of the chapter. So remember Jacob is on his deathbed, he has called his sons together, his 12 sons, he is now giving them his final words. And we're up to Zebulun verse 13. Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea and he shall be in haven of ships and his borders shall be under Zidon. Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens and he saw that rest was good and the land that it was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant under tribute. Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse hill, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy Yeshua, thy salvation, O Lord. Gad, a troop, shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words. Now note particularly what he says about Joseph. We've been studying the life of Joseph. Joseph is a fruitful bough. In fact, we memorize these verses. A fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him. But his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel. Even by the God of thy father who shall help thee, and by the Almighty who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors under the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. Benjamin shall ravine as a wolf. In the morning he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel and this is that their father spake unto them and blessed them. Everyone according to his blessing he blessed them. and he charged them and said unto them I am to be gathered unto my people bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan which Abraham bought with a field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife and there I buried not Rachel but Leah purchased of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people.' We're going to focus this morning on verse 13 to 28 and then God willing we'll finish off the remainder there and chapter 50 tonight. But we're dealing with the theme, standing at dad's deathbed. standing at dad's deathbed... I shouldn't come up with titles like that, I get my tongue twisted, but anyway, there you go, let's pray. Father, we pray that you'd help us today now, we ask for utterance for the preacher, Lord, that the words might come clearly. Lord, for the benefit and for the blessing of your people this morning, We thank you, Lord, for each one who has set aside the time to come and to be in your house to hear your word and I pray now that you would speak to our hearts as only you can, Lord. I cannot meet the needs of hearts here this morning, but Lord, I can seek to be your conduit, I can seek to be your vessel, Lord, to communicate your truth. And we thank you for how you have blessed this series in Genesis to our hearts as a church. We pray that you would bless, Lord, our final messages in the final verses of this wonderful book. And we pray, Lord, that the truths that we've learned might be applied to our hearts. So bless us now, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. So death is drawing near for Jacob. We read those final verses of the chapter and how Jacob passes out of this life. And so it's normal for a parent to want to see his or her children before death comes. But for Jacob, God gave him a special prophecy. This was more than just Jacob's final words to his children. With sentimental value, they were prophetic. God was going to speak through Jacob concerning those 12 tribes and give some insight concerning their character and their future. And that's what you see all the way through here. You see the insights of a father into the character of his sons. Parents do tend to get to know their children, don't they? If you have anything to do with your children, you get to know them, okay, and you get insights into their character. So there's both an insight into the character of the individual, but also a prediction concerning the future in that tribe. so we looked at Reuben in the last message, Simeon and Levi and some of the terrible things against their name. We looked at Judah and what you'll find as you go through here, there is a special emphasis upon Judah and Joseph. Absolutely, out of the 12 sons there is a very special emphasis upon Judah and a very special emphasis upon Joseph. And we don't have to guess why, Judah was the one through whom Christ would eventually come. Jesus Christ is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, tracing right back to this ancient prophecy. And then of course, Joseph carried on the birthright, privilege there, and many of the blessings because of his faithfulness and his godliness. So we looked in our last message at the prophecy concerning Joseph's sons, that was back in chapter 48 and now we're looking at this prophecy concerning Jacob's sons here in chapter 49. So let's pick up with Zebulun in verse 13 and we want to get to Joseph and spend most of our time on him this morning but let's look at what it says about Zebulun. Little is said about him except for the fact that he would be they would be a coastal people who would be a haven for ships. Okay, that is what it says, Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea and he shall be for an haven of ships and his border shall be unto Zidon. Okay, and so while not directly on the Mediterranean coast, one writer says, the tribe of Zebulun was assigned land close enough to the sea to make the transport of goods profitable for the people. Zebulun was located on an important route that carried merchandise from the coast to the sea of Galilee and to Damascus. Then we come to Issachar verse 14 and 15, it says, Well, Issachar ended up being situated on the eastern end of the fertile Jezreel Valley, read Joshua 19, sandwiched between Zebulun and the Jordan River. A famous judge, Tola, was from Issachar, Judges 10. And David also, during his reign, had soldiers from that tribe who understood the times and knew what Israel should do, 1 Chronicles 12, 32. And that's important, isn't it, to have men of understanding the times who know what to do, have wisdom from God and so we don't know a lot about some of these tribes but we do get some little glimpses and some little details as we go through the Word of God. Then we come to Dan in verse 16 to 18 and a couple of things are said about Dan. Firstly, Dan would judge his people and that lines up with his name, the word Dan means judge. Then we see an insight into Dan's character that he would be characterised by stealth in military matters. Dan is likened here to a venomous snake that would defeat a mounted soldier by striking the heel of his horse. Okay, now sadly Dan would eventually be the first tribe to introduce idolatry to the nation of Israel. But here we have this picture of his character that he would be stealthy and crafty and he and Jacob likens him to a serpent lying there and then striking the heel of the horse, bringing down the rider. Now what I find interesting, is straight after Jacob talks about this picture of the serpent striking the heel, he says, I have waited for thy salvation O Lord. Why would he say that? Well, I believe that Jacob, knowing the promise of Genesis 3.15, was reminded of that promise when he used that figure of the serpent striking the hill. Do you remember the prophecy from Genesis 3.15? God said, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise... it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. It's the first prophecy in the Bible of the Messiah and here Jacob is referring to the picture of a serpent striking the heel and it seems on his deathbed there what comes to mind is is that early promise of God to Adam and Eve, our first parents, of the Messiah and of course the picture there is of Satan the serpent who would strike the heel of Messiah and yet through the death of Christ, Messiah would deal a fatal blow to the head of the serpent. Aren't you thankful this morning that Christ defeated Satan at the cross? And he says, I have waited for thy salvation. Do you know what this word is in Hebrew? It's the Hebrew word Yeshua. Hebrew word Yeshua is the name Jesus. In Hebrew, Jesus is the Greek equivalent. Amazing here, Jacob says, I have waited for Yeshua. think there's no mistake in the Word of God there. Salvation is not found, it's a reminder isn't it, salvation is not found in a religious system, salvation is found in a person. You don't need religion this morning, you need a relationship with the Saviour, the one who can rescue you from your sin, the one who can save you from your sin and from hell. So that's Dan. we come to Gad verse 19, Gad a troop shall overcome him but he shall overcome at the last. Now the name Gad means troop so Jacob is using a play on words here with Gad's own name, he says Gad meaning troop, a troop shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last. So we don't know what all the details of this are, except that the tribe's location on the east side of Jordan would make the tribe vulnerable to enemy troops that could invade the territory. And so Jacob assured the Gadites that no conquest would be final, that though they might be overcome by their enemies, they would rise up and overcome their enemies. Then we have Asher verse 20, and Gad's brother Asher was to enjoy rich food and royal delicacies. He must have been a Baptist, that guy. Okay, out of Asher his bread shall be fat and he shall yield royal dainties. And it turns out that Asher ended up being on the rich northern seacoast, north of Mount Carmel, all the way to Tyre and Sidon. So he was able to produce a lot of things there and the name Asher means blessed or happy. And Moses said that Asher was most blessed, referring to its wealth of olive oil and the security of its cities, Deuteronomy 33, 24 to 25. we have Naphtali in verse 21. Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words. So Naphtali, Dan's brother, is described as a hind let loose. His descendants would be known for swiftness, as warriors they would be fleet of foot. They would also be known as composers of eloquent speech and beautiful literature, he giveth goodly words. Now we see a fulfillment of this in Naphtali's descendants. Remember Barak, who alongside Deborah won a mighty victory over Jabin and Sisera of the Canaanites. And you remember after that victory, they gave that victory song, the victory song of Deborah and Barak, Judges chapter 5. So that was a fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy here that Naphtali would give goodly words. Now we come to Joseph and we see that Jacob had the most to say about Joseph and the most positive things to say about Joseph out of the 12 sons. Joseph, verse 22, is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall. just remember for a moment that all the while Jacob is speaking, all the other brothers can hear. Don't forget that picture in your mind, see Jacob there, this man of faith, he's 147 years of age, he's lying on his deathbed, he's only minutes away from death and he's giving his final words to his sons and his final prophecy and there you have all the brothers hearing each one, Reuben, Levi, Simeon, imagine by the time it gets around to you, you might be thinking, what has dad got in store for me? You start to feel nervous perhaps, depending on how you'd lived. But here we have Joseph and really a wonderful summation and a wonderful portrayal of the life of Joseph from the lips of Jacob and we've been studying Joseph for quite a number of weeks. So take note, Now, of Jacob's review of Joseph's life, and he speaks about a number of things in relation to Joseph. You might like to note these down. He speaks firstly of the fruitfulness of Joseph's life. The fruitfulness of Joseph's life, verse 22, Joseph is a fruitful bough. That's a wonderful way to summarize the life of Joseph. If you could summarize the life of Joseph in one word, you could certainly use the word fruitful. Joseph is likened here to a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a wall whose branches run over the wall. So try and get the mental picture in your mind. I see a beautiful ancient garden setting, I see a well, perhaps with some stones around it as they often did in the east, I see then a wall in this garden, a stone wall and by this well you have a beautiful tree that is springing up, drawing life out of that well and so enriched is this tree and so full of life that its branches are hanging over that stone wall. Do you see the picture there? That's the picture that Jacob is using to describe Joseph. Joseph was like a fruitful branch that was hanging over the wall, a tree by a well, drawing on the life source there and producing beautiful fruit. Joseph is a fruitful bough. I see a principle here and it really gets to the secret of Joseph's life. I think you'll agree with me, if you survey the life of Joseph, you will see a life that flourished, a life that was fruitful, not because the circumstances were favourable to Joseph, on the contrary, we see Joseph so often in dry and difficult places, don't we? there he is in Egypt, physically dry, spiritually dry and yet wherever Joseph was, we see this flourishing in the life of Joseph. What's the secret? What's the secret in the picture there to the flourishing of the tree? The well of water. the tree drew from the well of water it flourished and bore fruit.' Don't you see a picture there of the Christian life? Don't you see a lesson there we can learn from the life of Joseph? That well of water would represent Joseph's relationship with God and Joseph was constantly drawing on the life of God and allowing the life of God to work through him, making him fruitful, making him flourish. I mean, Joseph lived his life in nearness to his God. It's just a wonderful thing to survey the life of Joseph and to see how God-centered his life was, how God-focused his life was, and take note of all the references that Joseph makes to his God. It's laced right through his life. Genesis 39.9, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God in relation to Potiphar's wife? Genesis 40 verse 8, before Pharaoh, do not interpretations belong to God? Genesis 41.16, God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. Genesis 45, God did send me before you to preserve life and God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth. So now it was not you that sent me hither but God. Chapter 45 verse 5, 7 through 8. Do you see the reference there? God sent me, God sent me, God sent me, God, God, God. No wonder Joseph's life flourished, he was a God-centered man. man who had the life of God working in him and through him. You know that's the only way to be fruitful in the Christian life. Did you know you cannot produce any fruit on your own? only way you are going to have a fruitful Christian life is if you draw on the life of Christ. Remember John chapter 15 and the Lord Jesus' wonderful little parable there of the vine and the branches, I am the vine, you the branches and the admonition there that unless we abide in the vine we cannot bear fruit. The only way we can bear fruit for God's glory is to draw on the life of Christ. allow him to produce through us what he wants to produce. And when you think about it, Joseph did benefit personally from the fruit that was produced in his life but think about it, the fruit of Joseph's life was largely for the sake of others. Think about how many people were blessed in Joseph's life. The whole nation of Egypt was blessed, wasn't it? Hebrew people were saved from famine because of Joseph, remember that, that if God is going to work in your life to cause you to flourish and to cause you to be fruitful, it is not first and foremost for you that God is doing that. God is going to make you fruitful so that you might bless others. good to be reminded of that in the selfie generation where we seem to think that everything's about us. No, it's not all about us. Of course God loves us as individuals and God is working for our good as individuals but God has a far bigger purpose in mind for your life. fruitfulness of Joseph's life. God, God meant it under good. Chapter 50 verse 20, right at the end of his life God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from thence. Chapter 50 verse 25, do you see all those references of Joseph all through his life there? God, every time Joseph opens his mouth it seems he's speaking of his God. No wonder Jacob could say, my son Joseph's like a fruitful bough by a well. He knew what it was to draw on the life of God. I think of the blessed man of Psalm 1. Psalm 1 through 3, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.' I love that picture and by God's grace I hope you and I want to be that man. The Word of God. If you want to flourish as a Christian you're going to have to sink your roots down into the well of the Word. have to sink your roots down into Christ, the living word, and the Bible which is the written word. So I think you'd agree with me, Joseph was fruitful, Joseph's life flourished spiritually. In fact, as you look at Joseph's life, everything he touched flourished. True? When he was in charge of Potiphar's wife, Potiphar's house, Potiphar's wife, not Potiphar's charge of Potiphar's house, okay, he said no to Potiphar's wife, praise the Lord, and that would have been the end of his fruitfulness if he'd said yes to her, amen. But here he is in Potiphar's house and what happens? Potiphar's house flourishes. Even in the dungeon, he's put in charge of the dungeon, things begin to flourish. You know, are you the sort of Christian who goes around dishing out dryness? It's sad, some Christians seem to be like Roundup, Brandup's my favourite fertiliser. If my wife let me, I would spray everything green in sight because it means I don't have to mow it or cut it or anything like that. But anyway, I try to restrain myself and just stick to it. But anyway, some Christians are like that, they go around and they wither people. You know, that would concern me, if every life I came into contact with, I was causing them to wither and die. because of my carnality, because of my worldliness, because of my bitterness, because of my lack of life, because I'm not walking with God and not trusting in God. How much better to be like Joseph and by God's grace and by God's life working through us be able to be a blessing, a channel of blessing in other people's lives. Think about that. I've seen situations, I've seen certain Christians and every person they come into contact with, they wither them. seen in churches before. Often they're bitter people, they attach themselves to someone and that person starts to wither up spiritually, leaves the church. Ringwalts are nodding, they've seen it before too, in their ministry. How often do you see that? Not with Joseph, wherever he was, whether it was Potiphar's house, whether it was the dungeon, whether it was Pharaoh's palace, Joseph was used of God and all that was around him flourished. Pastor Josh, when he was here, emphasized that principle, didn't he? How the Lord Jesus, I think it's in John 7, talked about that out of our bellies would flow rivers of living water. That's the picture of what God intends for our lives, that we would be refreshed personally, but that we might then be channels of blessing to others, bringing refreshment to other people's lives. So Joseph, fruitful, the fruitfulness of Joseph's life. Look at what else Jacob says as he reflects on the life of his godly son Joseph. By the way, if you have a Christian father and mother, wouldn't it be good that if they could have these kinds of reflections of you at the end of their life, rather than sorrow and grief, just a little thought there. A godly son or daughter is a great blessing to a mother and father, especially on the deathbed, to know that that son or daughter has been living for the Lord. Look at the fiery trials of Joseph's life, verse 23, the fiery trials, the archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him. I think that's an accurate summary of what Joseph had experienced. Do you see the picture? A fruitful Christian will be a shot at Christian. If you're going to endeavor to allow the life of God to work through you, if you're going to have a close walk with God and allow God to use you, just be prepared for the darts that are going to come your way. I mean, look at the opposition that Joseph faced in his life, as ultimately the devil, through these wicked people, his brothers mainly, was firing these darts at him, trying to extinguish him, trying to destroy him. I tell you what, Potiphar's wife was a big dart from the devil. And so Jacob now changes from the picture of the tree by the well to a war picture of archers firing arrows to describe Joseph's trial-filled life. I think we could summarize and say Joseph experienced two things, he experienced hurt and he experienced hatred. Because he said, the archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him, grieved him. Don't read the life of Joseph and think that he was superhuman and didn't feel any hurt or any pain. Joseph's life was full of hurts. Could there be anything more hurtful than being physically laid a hold of and sold into slavery by your own brothers? I can't think of anything more hurtful. Losing 22 years with your precious father. I mean, in fact, you go right back to when Joseph was just a lad and you see him standing there weeping by Rachel's grave, his mother. It was kind of symbolic of his life that was to come. His life was going to be a life filled with pain and a life filled with hurt. And we need to be reminded this morning, dear Christian brother and sister, that the Christian life is not a life with no hurt. I don't mean to be a party pooper, but hurts are going to come in your life as a Christian. You say, but there were hurts before I was saved. Now that I'm saved, the hurts are over. I'm sorry. There will be hurts in your life, even as a Christian. And it's just something to be expected. The hurts will come. But brethren, it's what we do with those hurts that's so important. Joseph was grieved by the arrows that were fired at his life. And sometimes, as we see with the life of Joseph, those hurts come from those who are very close to us. Have you ever been hurt by someone who's close to you? That's what really hurts. Some person you hardly know says something about you, couldn't care less. You have a brother or sister starts to slander you around town, that really hurts. the testimony of Joseph's life was that each time he was hurt, by the grace of God he healed. It was the grace of God working in Joseph's life that kept him from getting bitter, it was the grace of God that enabled Joseph to be healed from the hurts and the hatred that was thrown at his life. How about you this morning? When you have wounds in your life, you have a choice, you're either going to allow them to fester with the infection of bitterness or you're going to allow them to be healed by the balm of God's grace, it's your choice. Joseph could have become bitter, let's be real, that potential was there had it not been for the grace of God. Do we need a little bit air to keep you awake and refreshed or is everyone fine? Everyone's okay? Or we need a little bit of air? Just a little bit of air, okay? Just to keep the oxygen flowing for the saints so that you can keep taking in the message here, okay? It doesn't have to be up high, but just get some air on there. Good. The cold frogs hate me, but that's okay. They'll live. Don't be bitter about it. Hurts come in the Christian life, okay? It can make you better, not bitter. So, As we look at Joseph's life as described by his father Jacob, we see the fruitfulness of Joseph's life. We see the fiery trials of Joseph's life. Arrows shot at him. Then look, number three, at the fortifying of Joseph's life. And I love verse 24. So, continuing with the picture of archers firing arrows here, Jacob says, the archers were fired at Joseph, their arrows, they grieved him, they hated him, but Joseph's bow abode in strength. And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. You see there, God strengthened Joseph in his trial. God strengthened Joseph in the battle that he faced. I love the fact that with Joseph it mentions a bow but no arrows. Joseph did not shoot back in a carnal and fleshly way. Joseph did not fire back the kind of arrows that were fired at his life. God strengthened his bow as a defensive measure there. In a battle scene there, Joseph could easily have given up, Joseph could easily have been destroyed, and yet God was there strengthening Joseph, keeping his bow of defense intact. Alexander McLaren describes it beautifully, he says, He adds further, remember he who fights for God never fights without God. That's good, isn't it? He who fights for God never fights without God. Do you see the beautiful picture there? Have you ever done archery? It's quite hard, isn't it, to draw back that string? If it's a decent bow, not a little kid's one, If you get a good hunter's bow, it takes a lot of strength to draw that bow back, correct? Even at the campsite, you do a few of those. How many of you had sore muscles later? How many of you don't want to admit that in front of the girls? But anyway. Okay, the drawing back of the bow and here don't you see the beautiful picture? It's almost like if you could imagine a little child trying to shoot an arrow and the father comes along and puts his hands on the child's hands and says here let me help you and then ultimately it's the strength of the father's hands pulling the little child's hand back to pull the bow back and to release the arrow and of course the picture there is not of Joseph firing in a fleshy way but of standing in the trial and of doing battle for the Lord and so what a beautiful picture there of the invisible hands of God resting on the arms of his servant. Oh yes, Joseph looked alone from the human perspective but the mighty God of Jacob was standing with him. Going through a battle this morning? Some sort of battle in the Christian life? Not only will there be hurts in the Christian life, there's going to be battles. Tell you what though, to have the mighty God of Jacob, he's still the same God, isn't he? To have his hands upon your arms, to have his strength flowing into your spiritual muscles as it were, to give you the strength and to give you the power to stand in the midst of the battle while all the fiery darts of the devil are raining down on you. Aren't you thankful this morning that in the battle you have the mighty God of Jacob there to strengthen you and to help you? Isaiah 26, 3 and 4. Look back at the verse again, look back at verse 24. And can you see there's a little statement in parentheses there? From thence is the shepherd stone of Israel. Now, the word thence means from that place or from there, so from the God of Jacob would come the shepherd, the stone of Israel. Who do you think that is? believe that's Christ. Now perhaps in the immediate context it's another reference to God's character as the shepherd, the shepherd speaks of watch care, stone speaks of stability, a foundation, okay, but so often in these ancient prophecies what you see is a near and a far fulfillment. There's something in reference to what's happening now but there's something looking further down the road and we certainly could say that from the God of Jacob would come the shepherd and the stone of Israel. Is not Jesus Christ called both? He is called the Good Shepherd the chief shepherd and the great shepherd, John 10 verse 11, Hebrews 13 verse 20, 1 Peter 5 verse 4 and Christ is called the stone, the living stone, 1 Peter 2 verse 4 and the chief cornerstone, Ephesians 2 verse 20, 1 Peter 2 verse 6 through 7. So I believe we have here another messianic prophecy, from the God of Jacob would come the shepherd and the stone of Israel, that's Jesus Christ. so the fruitfulness of Joseph's life, the fiery darts against Joseph's life, the fortifying or the strengthening of Joseph's life. Look now at the favour upon Joseph's life, verse 25 and 26. Even by the God of thy father who shall help thee, and by the Almighty who shall bless thee. Now please underscore the word bless or blessing coming through here. With blessings of heaven above, Joseph... abundantly blessed by God for his steadfastness and faithfulness to God. I just wish, as Christians, we could get a hold of the long-term perspective. We are so inclined by our nature just see the short-term in things and to make short-term decisions and make decisions for expediency in the moment and the devil knows that that's a part of our character and so he's very good at coming to us and saying just do this now, this feels really great, do this, do this, do this, do this now and I just wish we could like Joseph somehow get a hold of the truth that it is always better to walk with God, that the world may offer temporary joys and temporary pleasures, but only God gives lasting blessings. And can't you see from the life of Joseph that because he was faithful to God, because he stayed with God, God so abundantly blessed him. And not only Joseph, But understand here, Jacob is looking forward into the future. Not only was Joseph blessed as an individual, but the bigger picture here is that Joseph's descendants were going to be mightily blessed. I mean, read chapter 48. We went through that last Sunday night. And look at the blessings that came upon Ephraim and upon Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph. And we're reminded of the truth of Proverbs 20 verse 7 that says, the just man walketh in his integrity, his children are blessed after him. Here's Joseph walking with God as a godly man and it wasn't just that his life was blessed, great blessing came upon his descendants, upon his children because of his faithfulness to God. It always pays to walk with God, it always pays to stay faithful to God. Let's look at these blessings. Joseph and his descendants will be blessed with what I would call multi-faceted blessings. Multi-faceted blessings, it wasn't just that there was one category of blessings here, there are several categories and isn't that the way that God works in our lives? It's not that he just blesses us in one area, we are just blessed in so many different ways. Is that true? We are such a blessed people. We are so blessed to know the Lord and to have Him at work in our lives. We have the blessings of prosperity, blessings of heaven above and of the blessing of the deep that lieth under. This was the blessing to Joseph, blessings of prosperity. And clearly the reference here is to rains from above and water streams and reservoirs from beneath. blessings of progeny, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. God would bless Joseph's descendants, they would multiply and God would bless them with abundant offspring. Again, quite a different view to the world's perspective, children are always viewed as blessings from God in the Bible. the blessings of Jacob the patriarch, verse 26, and Jacob here says that he had been blessed of God above his progenitors, his forefathers, his ancestors, and that these blessings would be on the head of Joseph who had been separate from his brethren. The blessings of thy father verse 26, have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors. So Jacob is saying, I have been blessed more than even my forefathers, referring to Isaac and Abraham. I've been blessed even more than them. And those blessings, he says, are going to be on the head of Joseph, the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brethren. All the other brothers are listening. That's going to cut deep, isn't it? Joseph, who had been separate from his brethren, been through so much, great blessings were going to be upon him from God. I think we could just note a New Testament principle here based on this, that blessing comes through separation. The blessings God came upon Joseph who was a separated man. Now we know that that was a physical thing for him, he was literally separated from his brethren but we see the principle there that if we would know God's blessings we must be separate from the world and its wickedness. So, as we think about the blessings on Joseph, we could say they were multifaceted blessings. Then we could say, multitudes of blessings. Notice the word blessings is in the plural and appears five times in these two verses and the word bless once. Blessings, blessings, blessings, blessings, blessings. Do you get the impression that God delights to abundantly bless his children? I do. how God loves to bless us, how God blessed Joseph and how God will bless us if we will stay faithful to Him, walk with Him and trust Him. God's will and God's way is always best, isn't it? Proverbs 18.30, as for God, His way is perfect. The word of the Lord is tried, He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. And so, Joseph, blessed of God. Jacob's summary of his life, Joseph is a fruitful bough, Joseph was fruitful. We note the fiery darts against Joseph's life, the fiery trials of his life, the picture there of the archers shooting at him and hating him and yet his bow abiding in strength, his arms strengthened by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. We see God's favour there upon his life, blessings of God. Then we have Benjamin finally, just briefly here, and then a summary, we have Benjamin in verse 27 and then we have a summary in verse 28, Benjamin shall ravine as a wolf, in the morning he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil. Verse 28, So Benjamin, the final son here, the youngest son, is likened to a ravening wolf who would devour the prey and divide the spoil. Now, if you're a Bible reader, you can see that character playing out in the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin would become a tribe skilled in warfare. Israel's first king was from Benjamin. His name was Saul and he was a man of war. Like a wolf, he pursued David and ruthlessly murdered everybody in the priestly city of Nob, 1 Samuel 22. Other Benjamites known for their ferocity were Abner, Sheba, and Shimei. Come all the way to the New Testament and Saul of Tarsus, a Benjamite, was like a wild animal who persecuted the Church of God. But God can tame a wolf, can't he? He got a hold of Saul. if you really want to see Benjamin as a ravening wolf in action, read Judges 19 and 20 when all the other tribes came to try and fight against Benjamin and it was a terrible battle, loss of life because they wouldn't give up those wicked men who had abused that woman and just terrible, terrible story there in the book of Judges and the rest of the nation came to deal with them and rather than give up the evil people who had committed that atrocity, they defended those evil people and fought against the people trying to deal with them. Kind of happens in churches sometimes, doesn't it? People about ready to draw blood to save the rebels against the good people trying to deal with the problem. That's another whole message, don't distract me on that but maybe that was just for you this morning. And Judges 2016 reveals that in the tribe of Benjamin, there were 700 chosen men left-handed. Everyone could sling stones at a hair breadth and not miss. You guys think you're a good shot with your rifles? Try that. A hair breadth. That's pinpoint accuracy. That's better than what a lot of guys can do today with all their fancy scopes and things. They're still way off the beaten mark with their targeting. This is amazing. This is the kind of tribe Benjamin was. Very powerful military tribe. Then in verse 28 we have this summary. So, standing by Dad's deathbed, but particularly this morning focusing on Joseph, a fruitful man, man who suffered great injustices in his life and yet was strengthened by God, a man who was blessed by God. I trust that we will follow Joseph's example, allow God to work through us that we might be fruitful for his glory and for the blessing of others. Going through a battle at the moment, the mighty God of Jacob stands there to strengthen you, to enable you, to empower you to go through that battle go through with God, whatever is going on in your life this morning, stay with the Lord, stay faithful to the Lord and let Him bless you as only He can. Let's bow for prayer shall we? As we close Heavenly Father we thank you that you are a God who delights to bless us, you are a God who loves us and Father we thank you for the life of Joseph and this great summary of his life from Jacob. Lord Joseph is a fruitful bough, fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall. Lord, we pray that we might be fruitful in our lives, Lord, make us fruitful, fill us with your life and with your blessing, Lord, that we might be able to flow out to others, Lord, that other lives will be blessed Lord, by the lives that we live, we pray. So Lord, we look to You this morning to live through us, that we might know the truth there of what You said in the Gospel of John, that out of our bellies would flow rivers of living water, Lord, and this spake of the Spirit. We know this was a reference to Your Holy Spirit and so we thank You that if we're saved this morning, You indwell us, we pray You would fill us and work through us. Lord, strengthen us in the battle. We thank you for that picture of the arms being strengthened by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, how we ask that you would put your hands upon our hands in the fight. Lord, we cannot do it without your strength and we thank you for all that you do. Thank you, Lord, for all of the blessings you bestow upon us, how good you are to us. You are a good and a gracious God and we give you thanks now in Jesus' name. Amen.