Quick Note – Genesis 48:15 – Shepherd All My Life

Genesis 48:15 – And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day…”

God was Jacob’s Shepherd.  God was with Jacob when he fled from his brother Esau, who was seeking to kill him.  God was with Jacob when he was being cheated by Laban as he cared for his father-in-law’s sheep.  God was with Jacob when he returned to the land of Canaan after living exiled for almost two decades.  God was with Jacob when he brought him into the land of Egypt to save his family from famine.  God was Jacob’s shepherd throughout his life. 

I relate to what Jacob says in this verse, because as with Jacob, God has been a Shepherd to me all my life.  He has been my shepherd from the day I was born until today, almost thirty-four years later.  He placed me in a good family, where I grew up hearing about the Word of God and growing in the knowledge of Him.  He placed me in a good elementary and high school, where I gained a foundation in the Bible and was supported by friends and family.  He gave me success in college so that I could be an honor student when I graduated.  And He opened up opportunities in research internships that have put me on the career path in science I am on today.  And even as I struggle in graduate school now, I know that He is here leading and guiding me, preparing a plan for the future.  He has been my Shepherd since the day I was born and will continue to lead me till the day that I die. 

Now, it may sound like I am boasting about God being my shepherd because good things have happened in my life.  But even in the trouble, God is still my Shepherd, and He is yours as well.  You may doubt it because of the trouble you are experiencing, but look at Joseph’s life.  He was solid into slavery.  He was wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison.  He was forgotten by the cupbearer whose dream he interpreted.  And only after suffering for years did he get placed into a position of power.  But God was his Shepherd even in that trouble.  God was leading and guiding Joseph’s life so that He would one day provide for Egypt and Israel during seven years of famine.  Wickedness was planned by others, but God was using it for good.  God was a Shepherd even in the Valleys of Shadow that Joseph was experiencing. 

God is our Shepherd.  He is watching over us from the day we are born until the day we die.  It is our choice whether we will follow and obey Him or continue to run away from His calling.  Let Him lead and guide you today.  He will take you through the valleys of shadow and death, protecting and helping you.  He will lead you to the greenest pastures and the stillest waters, so that you can experience His blessings.  God is a loving Shepherd, and He loves you.  Trust in Him today.  

Quick Note – Genesis 27 – The Greatest Blessing

Genesis 27:35-38 – But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.”  Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?  For he has cheated me these two times.  He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.”  The he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”  Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him.  What then can I do for you, my son?”  Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing my father?  Bless me, even me also, O my father.”  And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

I always feel bad for Esau when I read this story in Genesis 27 of the Bible.  This story describes how Jacob tricks his father Isaac in order to get the blessing that was meant for Esau.  For those who don’t know the story, let me give you a short summary, although I encourage you to read it for yourself.  Esau and Jacob were the two sons of Isaac and Rebekah.  Jacob loved Esau the most, while Rebekah loved Jacob.  When Isaac was getting old, had become basically blind, and was near death, he told his son Esau to prepare a meal for him to eat and then to receive his blessing.  So Esau went out to hunt for game and prepare that meal.  Rebekah, overhearing what was said, cooked up a plan to get that blessing for Jacob instead.  She prepared a meal, dressed Jacob up in Esau’s clothes, and sent him to get the blessing from Isaac.  Jacob then went in, deceived his father by claiming he was Esau, and received the blessing, which included bountiful harvests, lordship over his brothers, and more.  After the blessing was given, Esau returned from his hunt, prepared the meal, and went to Isaac for the blessing, only to find out that the blessing had already been given away to Jacob.  Jacob had tricked his way into getting Esau’s blessing.  It was then that Esau said these words in our passage today, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 

Now, it is true that Isaac basically blessed Jacob with everything here.  He blessed him with material wealth, power over his brothers, and even the blessing of blessing to those who blessed him and cursing to those who cursed him; but there was a blessing that was not given – the blessing of Abraham – the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his offspring that they would inherit the land of their sojourning and would become a blessing to the world.  This blessing was reserved for the person that God had chosen to give it to.  It was a blessing given to Abraham, then given to Isaac, and would eventually be given to Jacob.  But at this time, it had not yet been given to Jacob, so it makes me wonder why Esau never asked for this blessing.  Why was it that when Isaac asked Esau, “What then can I do for you, my son?” that Esau didn’t ask for the blessing of Abraham?  In just the next chapter, Isaac would bestow this blessing on Jacob, so during this time, it could have still been asked for by Esau (although it likely would not have been given, because it was meant for Jacob by God all along).  However, Esau could have asked.  Esau was so focused on the loss of physical and monetary blessings that he forgot to ask for the most important blessing of all – the spiritual blessing of having a close relationship with God, a relationship that Abraham his grandfather had and Isaac his father had.  Often, we can get caught up in all the physical things in this life that we forget that the most important blessing that God has given us in this life is a relationship with Him.  We forget that there is nothing greater than being called children of God, walking with Him, and getting to know Him better.  Instead, when we don’t get more money, don’t get a promotion in our workplace, don’t get the latest and greatest technological toy, we think that God either abandoned us or forgot about us.  But rather than focusing on the here and now, we should always keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.  Our treasure should be stored up in heaven rather than on this earth.  Let us take joy in the greatest blessing that we can have – Jesus Christ. 

Quick Note – Genesis 32:22-32 – Humble Yourself Before God

Genesis 32:22-32 – “²² The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. ³⁰ So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” ³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.”

I’m not feeling so well today, so I figured, I would just share with you an interesting thing I read from a commentary today.  It comes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.  The passage is from Genesis 32, which speaks of how Jacob wrestled with God, yet even after wrestling with Him all night, he still came to the same conclusion – that it is by God’s mercy he was preserved.  Jacob, a man who used to be the ultimate deceiver, did not play any tricks, did not act like Loki from Thor; he humbled himself before the great and mighty God, knowing that it is only by His mercy that he lives.  Humble yourself before Him as well.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

7. Jacob gives a new name to the place; he calls it Peniel, the face of God (v. 30), because there he had seen the appearance of God, and obtained the favour of God. Observe, The name he gives to the place preserves and perpetuates, not the honour of his valour or victory, but only the honour of God’s free grace. He does not say, “In this place I wrestled with God, and prevailed;” but, “In this place I saw God face to face, and my life was preserved;” not, “It was my praise that I came off a conqueror, but it was God’s mercy that I escaped with my life.” Note, It becomes those whom God honours to take shame to themselves, and to admire the condescensions of his grace to them. Thus David did, after God had sent him a gracious message (2 Sa. 7:18), Who am I, O Lord God? ^[1]

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^[1] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (72). Peabody: Hendrickson.