Joseph is a picture of Christ. He suffered unjustly, but God raised him up to the right hand of the throne. His brothers' lives were saved because he has the life supply. It wasn't until Jacob gave up his "rights" to his son Benjamin that he discovered the joy of his restored relationship with Joseph. His family left all of the things behind to abide with Joseph, and his brothers experienced a duality in their relationship with him - as brothers and as servants/slaves. His brothers were fearful that he might reign in terror, but he assured them that though they intended it for evil, God used the situation for good.
I thought Jacob gave such a weird "blessing" to his sons, because some of them received blessings, but others got a curse! Why? So, I read a few commentaries and realized the prophetic nature of the "blessing." It has, as most Scriptural prophecy does, both an immediate, literal context and a future prophetic meaning. Jacob's words to each of his sons have specific relevance to each in a personal way, a prophetic explanation of the tribe of Israel each represents, and a foretelling of phases in Israel's existence.
I'm blown away by how rich God's text is!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise you for your incredible ability to author a text that is outside of time and space that is true and relevant to the situations of people thousands of years ago, and it is directly relevant to my life today! Lord, thank you for your revealed truth, and thank you for bringing me into the light of life. Father, may I be so bold in sharing this wonderful message of hope and grace. I pray this in the name of the one who provided grace with His own blood, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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