Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: It's never too late to walk by faith. That's the story of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, and I hope it's a comfort to some of you as well. Welcome to Thru the Bible. In Genesis 48, we find Jacob near the end of his life reaching what our teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee calls new spiritual heights. It's a tender moment as Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons, an act filled with meaning for them and for us.

I'm Steve Schwetz, inviting you to grab your Bible and find your seat on the Bible bus. While you're getting settled, Greg and I have got a brief update on how God is working through His Word, this time in the country of Benin.

Greg: One of the things I love about our mission is we talk about parts of the world that don't feel bad. It's in Africa, in case you're wondering, "Where's Benin?" We just have the privilege of trying to fling the seed to almost every country on earth. That's our goal, at least.

Steve Schwetz: I am so excited about Africa because God seems to be doing a special work in this time in history in and on the continent of Africa. I get excited any time I hear reports all over the world, but particularly in Africa because it seems like stuff is really moving.

Greg: We were talking earlier this month about the discipleship power of Dr. McGee's teaching. How often the letters are not just about salvation—really important, of course, and conversion—but they are about people saying, "Here's how I'm following Christ every day, and I'm overcoming sin and my family is getting better, my relationships are getting better."

All of this is happening because we're taking God's whole word into all these languages. The language we'll be talking about, a lot of times languages go by different names. This one we used to call Fon-Gbe, now they're calling it Fon. It could be called either. It's spoken by millions in southern Benin, and the church is growing very quickly, but as usual, lots of challenges.

Steve Schwetz: It's interesting that a lot of people have mixed beliefs. You've got syncretism as a term that missionaries will use where people kind of a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and suddenly you've got something that doesn't look like true Christianity.

As usual, across the world, pastors are urgently needed, and nearly half the nation's languages still have no Bible. There's a lot of need in Africa in general, but God is providing for the Fon language. Here's an example. Greg, why don't you read this first one from Mrs. Victorine?

Greg: She's a faithful listener and this is what she said: "I had a stroke last year and my body became very weak. There were days when I felt discouraged and unsure of what the future would hold. But as I continued listening to the Thru the Bible programs in the Fon language and quietly meditating on God's word, something began to change in my heart.

Little by little, I found new strength, new peace, and new hope. Even when my doctor advised me to rest and avoid too much activity, I could not stop listening. After each program, I reflect on what I heard and hold on to God's promises. His word has become my comfort and my strength in this difficult season. I simply cannot stop listening because through these programs, God has given me new life in Jesus."

Steve Schwetz: Such an encouragement. That probably wouldn't have happened—she wouldn't have had that opportunity had she not had that severe physical ailment that put her on her back. God uses even the difficult situations in our lives to bring Him closer to us. Here's a great story. This is from Kofi, who shares this:

"I discovered the Thru the Bible program in the Fon language in a very unexpected way. One afternoon I went out to eat. At the table next to me, a man was enjoying his meal while playing a program in Fon on his phone. That second dish caught my attention even more than the food I had ordered. He was listening to Thru the Bible.

The program explained how events in the Old Testament point to their fulfillment in Christ in the New Testament. I was deeply surprised because these were the same questions I had been carrying in my heart. I felt an emptiness even though I thought I already understood everything. I had never liked the way Christians explained the Bible.

I had been taught that they distorted the scriptures, and I believed I belonged to the greatest and first church on earth. Pride had quietly taken hold of my heart. But that day, the truth I heard from the program at the neighboring table began to break that pride. In just a few minutes of listening, the veil of my ignorance started to lift and humility began to grow in its place."

Greg: Father, we're always amazed to see you work so powerfully through our simple efforts. We thank you for that. Pray you'll continue all over the world as we fling the seed in hundreds of languages. May people be changed for your glory. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: I know you've found your place now in the 48th chapter of Genesis. As we come to the 48th chapter, we're coming to the last days of Jacob. In fact, we have that great deathbed scene of Jacob in the next chapter, and we'll take that next time. But today, in this 48th chapter, he's come to the conclusion of his life. There's no question about that.

While I think of it, let me intrude this. There are several who have written in that tell me that they're annoyed by several little expressions that I use and that I use them too much. I regret that very much that I'm doing that and have done it in the past. We're trying to correct it. Now, the reason for it is just simply this: that I've attempted to do more than I'm physically able to do.

When you become weary, your brain doesn't move as fast as it does at other times. I do not write out the messages I give. I want them to come from my heart, and sometimes they don't seem to come from my mind at all. We want our mind to keep up with our heart, but sometimes we get weary. But what we do is we find that we repeat, and I regret it. I hope that I improve. You continue to pray for us.

As we get into this chapter here, we find that we have Jacob's last sickness, and he blesses the two sons of Joseph. By faith, we're told, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshiped leaning upon the top of his staff. That's Hebrews 11:21. Now, I think you can discover here another evidence of the spiritual side of Jacob and that he's growing. He's come a long way since his early days.

If I may adopt a very slang and ugly expression that's in some of our commercials, let me say this of Jacob: "You've come a long way, baby." I don't mean that he's come to the place where he can smoke cigarettes and get lung cancer, but I think that he's come spiritually a long, long way. Now, I think that all of you that are studying with us, reading through the Bible with us, will concur in this observation. But the growth has been slow, very slow. It wasn't a sensational experience.

A great many people look for that. I talked to a very beautiful young couple. They were a fine-looking young couple in Memphis, Tennessee, several years ago after a service. They had come forward. I asked them what they came forward for. They said they wanted all that God had for them. I found out they came forward every Sunday. I asked them, "What are you really looking for?"

Well, they thought they would have some sensational momentary experience that just all of a sudden they'd become fully grown. We're told to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We've had to wait now until he's become an old man to see the fruit. Thank God for the possibility of growth in our lives and the patience of God which permits it.

Now, if God moved in like some of us would, and I know that my impatience would cause me to move in and do something about it. But God very patiently dealt with this man and He very patiently will deal with you and me. Now, let's look at this incident in this man's life. Old Jacob is going to bless the sons of Joseph. I'm reading now verse one, Genesis 48.

"And it came to pass after these things that one told Joseph, 'Behold, thy father is sick.' And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob and said, 'Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee.' And Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, 'God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.'"

Now, can you imagine the thrill of this old man who now has this boy and his two sons before him? He never dreamed he'd ever see him again. He thought he was dead. What a thrill it must have been to him. This was his favorite son. Now he finds him elevated to this high position down in the land of Egypt. What a thrill it must have been to old Jacob to have this boy of his.

He's on his deathbed now, he's been down there 17 years, and here comes this man with his two sons—that is, Joseph. Old Jacob, he gets up and sits on the edge of his bed, and he's an old man, and he's dying. But notice where he goes to in his thinking. "And Jacob said unto Joseph, 'God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.'"

I tell you, friends, that he's come a long way. You see here the faith of Jacob. He's now trusting God. He's not bragging about Jacob. Jacob was clever. As a young man, he could get what he wanted—so he thought—and would use any kind of a method too. But now he looks back over his life, and he goes back to where God appeared to him. That's the beginning of it all.

God appeared to him there in Bethel when he went out of the land and then when he came back to the land. He says God appeared to me there and God blessed me. Here's the faith of Jacob. Now listen to verse four. "And he said unto me, 'Behold, I'll make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I'll make of thee a multitude of people, and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.'"

Keep those two things in mind. They run through the entire Old Testament and into the New Testament, friends. God promised this line: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs. He said to them that through you, two things will be accomplished. Actually, three things, but the important thing right here for Jacob was: I'm going to make you fruitful, I'll make a nation to come from you.

The second thing: I give you this land. Those are two things that you can nail down. They're very important as far as the Bible is concerned. Now, the third thing is important for you and me: I'll make you a blessing to all nations, to all people. The reason that right now you and I are sitting down with our Bible and considering the word of God is because God's made good His promise that He made way back yonder.

God, by the way, has made two-thirds of that promise good. One-third He hasn't, really. They don't have that land today. Oh, they've got a little border there, but I tell you, it's a bone of contention. But when they get it from the hand of God, they'll live there in peace, every man under his vine and fig tree. They'll own their property then, pay no taxes. Believe me, friends, if that took place, it'd be the millennium, wouldn't it? Well, that's what it will be when they get it.

Now, may I read on here, verse five. "And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, they're mine." Well, they are his grandsons. "As Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine." Now, what is going to take place is that the two sons of Joseph become each one a tribe.

Now, I know immediately someone is going to say, "Well, there were 13 tribes of the nation Israel." No, my friend, there were not 13 tribes. Only 12. Well, you're going to count it up on your fingers and say, "Well, I count 12 sons, and then if the two sons of Joseph are made a tribe, each one of them—and they were, there was the tribe of Ephraim, tribe of Manasseh—there was no tribe of Joseph, but one tribe becomes two tribes."

Now, that makes 13 in any man's mathematics. But friends, it's not 13 tribes because the tribe of Levi that became the high priestly tribe, they were not counted. They were not given any land. They were not given a territory. They were scattered as priests throughout the tribes and were not counted as a tribe. So that actually there are 12 tribes.

Now, you may say, "Well, that seems to me to be a rather devious way." Well, I didn't do it. The word of God does it that way, and that's the way God wanted it, and that's the way God made it. Now, will you notice verse five. "And now my two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt." They're pretty good-sized boys. They have to be 17 years old.

"And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance." Old Jacob picks these two boys out, each one to become a tribe. Now, notice where his mind goes again, verse seven. "And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath. The same is Bethlehem."

Now, you may today at Christmas time sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and you think of the birth of Jesus. You know what old Jacob would think of if he heard you singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" at Christmas time? He'd think of the death of Rachel, not the birth of anyone except Benjamin. But he would think primarily of the death of his beloved and beautiful Rachel.

Right here on his deathbed, he goes right back there where he buried her. That was his heartbreak, as you know. He said, "I buried her there, and it's Bethlehem." Verse eight: "And Israel beheld Joseph's sons and said, 'Who are these? Who are these?'" And Joseph said unto his father, "They're my sons whom God hath given me in this place." And he said, "Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I'll bless them."

Have you noticed both Isaac and Jacob when they got old, they had difficulty seeing? There's an eye trouble that's been in that land for years, and it does affect the old. Brightness of the sun, I guess, had a great deal to do with it, but it's still true, I think, even over there today. I noticed that a great many in the Arab countries, I should say, that there were great many old people that seemed to have difficulty getting around.

They weren't entirely blind, but they certainly couldn't see very well. You'd see them being led by someone, or they'd be sort of feeling their way along. I suppose it's been characteristic in that land. We notice it here. He didn't recognize the two boys at all. Verse 10: "Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him, and he kissed them and embraced them."

The fellows are a little embarrassed by their grandfather showing such affection for them. I read: "And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth." You see, they tried to get away from him when he lavished his affection upon these boys, and he reaches out for them and finally he finds them.

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. Now he's doing that that they might be blessed and the right hand would be the one that would have priority. I read verse 14 now: "And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was his firstborn."

Ephraim, you remember, becomes the leader above Manasseh. Joshua came out of the tribe of Ephraim, by the way, and you will find that out of that tribe there were many great men. We'll have occasion to call attention to that. It became the tribe with priority. No question about it. Now, what happened was when these two boys were moved up to old Jacob, although he couldn't see too well, he could see what his son Joseph was doing.

He was pushing the older one where he could put his right hand on him and the next one where he'd put his left hand. What did old Jacob do here? Well, he just switched hands. He just crossed his hands, and that meant the right hand went on the younger. Now, why do you suppose he did that? Well, I have several suggestions to make to you of why he would do that sort of thing.

Well, I think the reason is he was the younger, was he not? And the blessing was his. So he passes the blessing on to the younger here. You find this running all the way through in the choice, for instance, of a king for Israel. God never did choose old Saul. That was the people's choice. They voted for him, and people get what they vote for, of course. And they got Saul.

But God's choice was David, and David was not the oldest son of Jesse at all. He was the youngest one. Now, why does God do that? God is illustrating for you and me a great spiritual truth. God does not accept primogeniture. That is natural birth. Never will He accept it. There must be the new birth. Therefore, God does not pay attention to what we'd pay attention to.

We'd say, "Well, he's the oldest boy. He has the responsibility. We can depend on the oldest boy." Well, the oldest boy is not the one God always chooses. That is, He doesn't choose the natural man, and He chooses no man because of his natural ability. Oh, that's a truth that we need to learn today. We feel like—now don't misunderstand—God can use talent, but you better be dead sure it's dedicated to Him.

Because if it took talent to bring revival, we'd have had revival in Southern California years ago. We have got Christian talent that's running out our ears out here, but we don't have revival. You know why? It's not dedicated to Him. I tell you, my friend, it has to be yielded to Him to be used of Him. Now we find that Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand, Manasseh in his left, pushes them up there, and Jacob just crosses.

Now, notice. "Israel stretched out his right hand, laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph and said, 'God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day.'" Now listen to him. He reaches spiritual heights here, friends, and he never goes any higher than this.

Verse 16: "'The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.'" When you look back upon your life today, do you have a great deal to boast of? Oh, today there's so much of this reviewing of the lives of Christians and giving them a lot of credit. Poor old Jacob, he's come a long way, friends. He says, "'The Angel which redeemed me from evil, bless the lads.'"

Old Jacob had nothing to boast of except he had a wonderful redeemer. "'And let my name be named on them and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.'" And that certainly took place. Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

And Joseph said unto his father, "Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put thy right hand upon his head." Listen to this: "And his father refused and said, 'I know it, my son, I know it. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great, but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.'"

That's important to see, and Joseph better accept it because he's not the oldest. He happens to be one of the youngest sons, and the blessing is given to him. Now notice verse 20. "He blessed them that day, saying, 'In thee shall Israel bless, saying, "God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh."' And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

And Israel said unto Joseph, 'Behold, I die, but God shall be with you and bring you again into the land of your fathers.'" Notice the faith of the man, friends. This man has a wonderful faith in God. Now he says, "Moreover, I've given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow,"—that is, that the inheritance he would take the place of the older.

Now chapter 49, which we'll be coming to next time, it's the deathbed scene of old Jacob. He's on his deathbed now. The other boys are called in, and you find out that he has a blessing for each one of his 12 sons. Friends, this is tremendous because a little later on, you're going to see the 12 tribes around another man dying, Moses, and he'll bless the 12 tribes. And not only has God promised to the nation Israel certain things, but to each tribe, and the amazing thing is He's making it good. A great deal of it is already fulfilled. Until next time, may the Lord richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: Throughout his lifetime of ministry, Dr. McGee often said that if he had just one proof the Bible is the word of God, it would be fulfilled prophecy. In our next study, we'll hear remarkable prophecies that have already been fulfilled, along with others still to come. So be sure to join us.

If you'd like to listen again to any of our studies in Genesis, you can find them in our app or at TTB.org. Or if we can help you find a resource by Dr. McGee, just call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll meet you back here next time as we continue making our way through the Bible.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

Thru the Bible exists to take God's whole word to the whole world, and we invite you to stand with us with your faithful prayer and financial support. Where will God's word go today?