Peter Barnes: Trusting in the World to Come (Genesis 47:28-48:22)
SERMON NOTES: TRUSTING IN THE WORLD TO COME (Genesis 47:28-48:22)
Jacob is approaching the end of his earthly life, as a stranger in a strange land.
- Longing for home.
– 47:29-31; Heb.11:21. This is not nationalism nor is it sentimentality. Jacob is moved by God’s promises of a land in which He would dwell with His people (48:1-4, 21-22). John Currid believes the translation should be not a ‘mountain slope’ (ESV) but Shechem.
– this points to the Christian hope – 1 Pet.1:3-4.
- Prophesying the future.
– 48:5-14, 17-20. Jacob is acting as a prophet; he creates an extra tribe, and he places Ephraim (the younger) over Manasseh (the older). See Hosea 11:12-12:1, 8.
- A pilgrim’s confession.
– 48:15-16; this is a believer’s confession:
(a) he confesses the God who reveals Himself in His Word – 48:15a.
(b) he confesses that God is the shepherd of His people – 48:15b; about eight hundred years before David wrote the 23rd Psalm.
(c) he confesses the angel who has redeemed him – 48:16a. Who is this angel? See Gen.16:7-8, 11-13; 32:24, 28, 30.
(d) he confesses his faith in future blessing – 48:16b.
Jacob is a stranger in a strange land. He was a sinful deceptive man, but God laid His hands upon him. That meant he could make this confession of faith, and look to the future with hope.