Boundless Blessedness

    "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: (23) The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: (24) 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:) (25) 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: (26) The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto 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."

    In Genesis 49, we see Jacob on his deathbed; and here we see him at his best. He showed himself a noble man in many things; but his final scene is by far his best. Like the sun at sunset, Israel appeared most glorious when he was leaving this world. Spurgeon said, “Like good wine which runs clear to the very bottom, unalloyed by dregs, so did Jacob, till his dying hour, continue to sing of love, mercy, and goodness, past and future. Like the swan, which (as old writers say) singeth not all its life until it comes to die, so the old patriarch remained silent as a songster for many years, but when he stretched himself on his last couch of rest, he stayed himself up in his bed and, although with faltering voice, he sang a sonnet upon his offspring.”

    In verses 22-26, Jacob gives his richest, fullest benediction to his beloved son, Joseph. Without question, the benediction here given to Joseph speaks of the blessedness of him of whom Joseph was a type and picture, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the one spoken of here is Christ our Lord, the blessedness here bestowed upon him is also a declaration of that boundless blessedness which is the portion of God’s elect. So, as we read these lines, I will endeavor to show you how that everything written in these verses applies first to Joseph, then to our Lord Jesus Christ, and then to all who are Christ’s.

    Verse 22 -- "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall."

    Joseph was made to be a fruitful bough. This prophecy refers to Joseph’s seed, his children, which are here compared to a tree so heavily loaded with fruit that its branches hang over the wall of the garden in which it stands. I do not doubt that the promise here given refers to Joseph’s physical seed; but it goes beyond that. This is a prophecy concerning the boundless fruitfulness of our great Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ.

    The fruit of our great Savior’s substitutionary sacrifice at Calvary is a great, innumerable host of redeemed sinners who shall serve him forever. The Lord Jesus Christ was cut off in the prime of his manhood, a single man, with no children. The question is asked, “Who shall declare his generation?” It appeared that he would never have a seed to serve and honor his name; but that is not the case.

    In fact, his death as our sin-atoning Substitute is the very means by which his bountiful, innumerable seed is born. His death, as an offering for sin, guaranteed the birth and everlasting life of his people.

    “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities" – (Isa. 53:8-11)

    Therefore we read in Psalm 22:30-31, "A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this."

    This promise is also a promise concerning each of God’s elect in Christ. Every child of God, every true believer shall be a fruitful bough, bringing forth fruit unto God, by the power of his grace. The Lord God declares, “From me is thy fruit found.” (Hos. 14:8); and he makes all his children fruit bearing trees. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22-23).

    Joseph had to endure the envy of his brothers, by which he was grieved, the temptations of Potiphar’s wife, the slander she heaped upon him, and the uncaused hatred of them all. All God’s Josephs in this world are marked, hated men.

    Our Master, like Joseph, was hated without a cause. He was tempted in the wilderness, envied by the Pharisees, hated by the Jews, slandered by his enemies, grieved in his very soul, and at last slaughtered on trumped up charges as a common criminal.

    Let none who follow the Son of God expect better treatment while living in this world. The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. Though blessed of God, boundlessly, everlastingly blessed of God, in this world, every child of God has the lot of Joseph. “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Every believer must endure the temptations of Satan, the envy of men, the betrayal of friends, the slander of evil tongues, and the hatred of men, even the hatred of men whose interests they serve. This is our lot in this world; but it is as surely a part of our blessedness as the most pleasant things we experience (Luke 6:20-26).

    Verse 24 -- "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)."

    Joseph was a man made strong by the mighty God of Jacob. The text says nothing about Joseph’s natural strength or superiority over his brothers. The text says he was “made strong by the mighty God of Jacob”

    Though many archers took aim and shot their arrows at him, Joseph’s bow abode in strength. That is to say, he was so strong that he never sought to retaliate. A warrior who draws a bow must release his arrow quickly, else his hand will quiver, and he will miss his mark. Joseph was made strong, so strong that though his bow is drawn, he holds it steady and never fires a return arrow at his adversaries.

    When his brothers falsely accursed him, Joseph said nothing, either in defense of himself or against his accusers. When Potiphar’s wife slandered him, he spoke not a word. When he was wrongfully imprisoned on trumped up charges, he said nothing. When the chief butler forgot his kindness to him, Joseph’s bow still abode in his strength. His arm was still made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.

    That is how our Master suffered evil at the hands of men. He never once opened his mouth in defense of himself. Rather, he recognized that those who set themselves against him were but instruments by which his Father was performing his will for him, instruments by which his Father was accomplishing his covenant promise to exalt him above all.

    By his great example our Lord teaches us patiently endure the assaults wicked men, without vengeance or retaliation, when we are the objects of their envy, slander, betrayal, and hatred. “If, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:20-24).

    The mighty God of Jacob still makes his Josephs strong by his grace. One of them, while a prisoner for the gospel’s sake, displayed this same, remarkable strength of grace. He wrote from his prison, "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (13) I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:12-13)

    “From thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.” The Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Stone of Israel, is that One who was sent from “the Mighty God of Jacob” to redeem and save his people. I cannot imagine two more encouraging, assuring, comforting titles by which Judah could have described our Savior. The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of Israel. He is our almighty Protector and Provider, who carries his lambs in his bosom. He is also the Stone, the Rock of Israel, the One upon whom we build and upon whom we are built, our Foundation and Support.

    In verses 25-26, Jacob pronounced a sevenfold blessedness upon Joseph, a sevenfold blessedness upon all who are God’s. This is boundless blessedness indeed!

    1. "Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee.” – Here is a promise of help in every time of need. He who is the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he who is the God of Judah, who helped them and fulfilled his word to them, will help us and fulfill his word to us.

    2. “And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above.” -- Here the promise of all the blessings of heaven, grace, salvation, eternal life, and heavenly glory in Christ (Eph. 1:3-6).

    3. “The Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of the deep that lieth under.” – Here is the promise that all the deep mysteries of providence, all the affairs of time, all the events of the world, the demons of hell, the beasts of the field, and the adversities of life shall prove to be a blessing from God to his people (Hos. 2:18; Rom. 8:28-30).

    4. “The Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.” – This is a promise that “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” The old patriarch, speaking by the Spirit of God, here declares that God’s elect are blessed in all things, all the days of their lives, even from their mother’s breasts. Every believer may confidently speak with David, and with the Lord himself, these words of praise to God: “Thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me to hope when I was upon my moher’s breasts” (Ps. 22:9).

    5. “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors.” – Here Judah declares that this blessedness is indescribably greater than the blessings any earthly father can bestow upon his sons. This is the blessedness of grace upon grace, the blessedness of all things, the blessedness of all fulness in Christ (John 1:16; 1 Cor. 3:21; Col. 2:9-10).

    6. “The Almighty shall bless thee…unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.” – Yes, the very fulness of heavenly glory obtained by the man Christ Jesus, as our Mediator, all of it, nothing excluded, shall be ours forever (John 17:5, 22). This is boundless blessedness indeed!

    7. “They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” – This boundless blessedness is that which God freely bestows upon all who have been separated from the sons of Adam by election, redemption, and effectual calling, and made to be the sons of God by grace in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:14-7:1).