In Genesis chapter 48, I've decided
to divide this into two sections because I wanted to spend some
time on verses five and six. And what we're going to talk
about this morning is Jacob adopting Joseph's sons. And here, Jacob
was very sick. He was basically pretty much
on his deathbed. He's about 147 years old. And
it says, look at verse one, it says, 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. Joseph went to his father and
he took his two sons. And the two sons are Manasseh
and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, verse two,
and said, behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. And Israel
strengthened himself. I think that's interesting how
in verses, you know, we'll see Jacob by both names, Jacob and
Israel. And that's so telling, isn't
it? He's a sinner saved by grace
who has prevailed with God through the blood of Christ. That's what
we are. And every time I see that, I just, I think, you know,
I'm the Lord, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. And yet we are Israel. We're
citizens of a heavenly kingdom by God's grace. And Jacob, you
know the history of Jacob. Jacob followed the Lord. Somebody
said one time that Jacob didn't follow the Lord very well, though.
He said he followed the Lord like a dog follows his master.
You know, if you go out and walk a dog, and if you don't have
a leash on that dog, that dog, you know, he'll follow you for
a while, and then he'll get distracted. He'll go over there, and he'll
get interested in something else, but you gotta call him back.
That's the way the Lord does us. So Jacob and Israel, so he
strengthened himself, gathered up his strength on his deathbed,
and sat upon his bed. So here he is, 147 years old
on his deathbed, very sick. His eyesight was very dim, couldn't
hardly see. But after hearing about his father's
condition, Joseph, along with his two sons, came to Jacob.
And this is the account of Jacob adopting Joseph's sons. and what we're going to see in
this chapter in these two lessons, first of all today Jacob adopting
Joseph's sons and then next week I'm going to deal with Jacob
blessing Joseph's sons and one goes with the other but there's
some things I wanted to bring out in this adoption. This adoption,
Jacob adopting Joseph's sons is a picture of God the Father
adopting us into his family because of Christ. Jacob adopted Joseph's
sons into his family because of Joseph. And of course, you
know, Joseph is a great type of Christ. He was the savior
of his family. You know, he said, you remember
when he talked to his brethren, we'll see that later on, he told
him, he said, God sent me here. He said, you meant it for evil,
but God meant it for good to save much people alive, to save
his family. That's the reason that Joseph
was sent down into Egypt. And we see a great picture there
of Christ being sent to this sin-cursed world. and being made
flesh without sin to save his family, his brethren, his people
alive. So that's the type. So if you
think about it though, here in this passage here, over in the
book of Hebrews 11, I've got this listed in your lesson, this
verse. You know the hall of faith? where
he talks about Abraham and Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham. When Jacob is mentioned in the
Hall of Faith, it's in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 21, and
this very event here is the one that it mentions as an example
of God-given faith that Jacob had. It says in Hebrews 11 and
verse 21, by faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both
the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff."
And you think out of all the things that Jacob went through,
we think about Jacob's ladder. He mentions it here when he talks
about when he went down to Bethel and all of that, and he had the
vision of the ladder. And of course, that's a picture
of Christ, the only way to God. And then you think about Jacob
wrestling with the angel, which was a pre-incarnate appearance
of Christ and prevailing with God because that was the plan,
that was God's plan. Who prevails with God? How can
a sinner prevail with God? There's only one way we can prevail
with God, plead the blood of Christ, that's our victory. And
so you'd think, well, in Hebrews it would have mentioned one of
those events, but no, it mentions this. Jacob adopting and blessing
Joseph's two sons. And what's the significance of
that? Well, what we're going to see
is that like every event that may seem strange to us, like
I've had people ask me, say, why didn't Joseph object? Wait
a minute, dad, these are my sons, not yours. I know if Debbie and
I went up to Ashland and tried to adopt our two grandsons, our
daughter-in-law would have something to say about it. But Joseph did
not object. Why? Well, because Jacob's words
and actions here are guided by God's promise and God's sovereign
providence. And Joseph recognized that this
is the work of God. This is what needs to be. And
so there they are. Well, look at verse three. It
says, and Jacob said unto Joseph, God almighty appeared unto me
at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. Now, Jacob, he's
speaking of the past now. At Bethel, when he dreamed of
the ladder, which typify, as I said, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the one way for sinners to come to God. And that's, you
know, what we're seeing here, he's talking about his history.
And anytime we talk about history, we need to see the significance
of that history as history unfolds under the governance, the providence,
the power of God to bring his people to Christ. And that's
what the significance is. And I've got listed in here in
your lesson, Isaiah 46, nine through 13. You read that sometimes.
I've preached whole messages on that. That's where God, through
the prophet Isaiah tells Israel or Judah, he says, remember the
former things of old, for I'm God, there's none else. And I
work my will, I do what I want. He's not a God of unfulfilled
desire. And he brings it down to the
gospel. He said, listen up you who are stiff necked, that is
proud and unbending, hard hearted. That's what we are by nature.
He said, I bring near my righteousness and it shall be accounted in
Zion. He's talking about Christ there.
So it's all comes forth for that. But notice, listen to what he
says here. He says, and Jacob, verse three, said unto Joseph,
God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan
and blessed me. He said unto me, behold, I will
make thee fruitful. Now notice this now, I will make
thee fruitful and I will multiply thee and I will make of thee
a multitude of people. I will give this land to thy
seed and thee for an everlasting possession. So what we have here
is a covenant that God renews that is totally dependent upon
God himself. None of it dependent on Jacob. And that's the way God's covenants
are. You remember I've talked about unilateral covenants and
bilateral covenants. Bilaterals, God says, I will
if you will. But that's not this kind of covenant.
This is a covenant of grace. This is a covenant of mercy.
God says, I will make thee fruitful. I will give you this land. This
is God's determinant will. This is his way of doing things.
It's his sovereign will, his sovereign purpose and power,
not Jacob's. And that's the way salvation
is. In spite of all of Jacob's failings, what happened? God preserved Jacob through it
all. and brought him to this place. And that's the way God
does us. That's why we're sons of Jacob.
I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Our covenant keeping God has
saved us by his grace, he preserves us by his grace, he will not
let us go, and he'll bring us to glory by his grace. Not by
anything of our power or our goodness. So Jacob, what he's
doing here, he's not just reminiscing like an old man who's lost his
mind. That's not what he's doing. What he's doing here is he's
recounting the covenant promises and mercies of God in Christ
that were given to his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac,
and to himself and his people, the people of Israel. So that's
what he's saying here. Whatever's gonna happen, this
is according to God's command and it's according to God's purpose.
And so look at verses five and six. Now this is where I really
wanna major on. And he says in verse five, and
now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto
thee in the land of Egypt. Now remember I said last week,
you gotta realize these boys were basically Gentiles. Manasseh,
they were born to an Egyptian wife. I know Joseph was their
father. But you remember, you see there, the Jewish people
were proud of their bloodline. You remember when Paul in Philippians
chapter three, when he was talking about the things he gloried in
before he was saved? Well, one of the things he said
is I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews. And I believe what he was saying
there is I'm a purebred, unmixed Hebrew. Now how Paul knew that
or thought that, I don't know. They didn't have these websites
and things like that where you can trace your family tree. But
that's what he believed and that's what he was proud of. But Joseph's
sons were born of an Egyptian wife that Joseph had. And so he says, he says, which
were born unto thee in the land of Egypt. before I came unto
thee into Egypt, verse five, are mine. Now listen to what
he said, your two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, which were born
of an Egyptian woman, before I came to Egypt, they're mine,
he says, but now notice the next line in verse five, as Reuben
and Simeon, they're not just mine, it's not just an old grandpappy
saying, I'm going to take them as mine, you know, no, he says,
they're mine as Reuben is mine and as Simeon is mine. Now Reuben
was the firstborn, you remember, And so what he's talking about
here has to do with the law of the firstborn. Now, Reuben, Jacob's
eldest, Reuben and Simeon were Jacob's eldest sons. And Reuben
lost the right of the firstborn because of a great sin that he
committed. And Simeon was known as a bloody
man, someone who, you know, it was all, they forfeited it. Joseph
was the firstborn between Jacob and Rachel. And so basically,
Joseph had the right of the firstborn then, but Jacob says, I'm gonna
adopt your two boys and I'm gonna give it to them through you.
And if you'll look over in the book of 1 Chronicles, you might
wanna mark this. 1 Chronicles chapter five. Now I've got this listed in your
lesson. First Chronicles chapter five,
look at what it says here in verse one and two. And this is
talking about the line, the lineage of the sons of Jacob. And he's
talking about Reuben, the firstborn. And it says, now the sons of
Reuben, verse one, the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn,
but for as much as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright
was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel. And the genealogy
is not to be reckoned after the birthright. It's not to be reckoned
legally. It's not to be legally charged
to Reuben, okay? The birthright, because he forfeited
it. And it says in verse two, for Judah prevailed above his
brethren. Now Judah, he was another son
of Jacob, but he had another special place in the family.
It was through Judah that the Messiah was coming. And we'll
see that when we get to Jacob blessing all of his sons. The
scepter shall not depart from Judah. But he says, and of him
came the chief ruler, that's the chief prince, that's Christ,
out of Judah, but the birthright, was Joseph's. You see it there? The birthright was Joseph's.
So Joseph had the right of the firstborn, even though he was
second from the youngest. Benjamin was the youngest, but
Reuben had abdicated it because of his sin and the other sons
were not going to get it. For whatever reason, it went
to Joseph. And now Jacob is saying here,
Look back at Genesis 48, and now thy two sons, Ephraim and
Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before
I came unto thee and Enoch are mine as Reuben and Simeon, they
shall be mine. And look at verse six, it says,
and thy issue, which thou begettest after them shall be thine and
shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. So what he's doing, He's taken
these two boys that are born of an Egyptian woman, adopting
them into his family and giving them the full rights of the firstborn
that Joseph had through Joseph. Now, why would he adopt them
again? And why would Joseph not refuse?
Well, let me recount this. I've already said it, but just
for instance, number one, it was the Lord's will that Joseph
be given the double blessing of the firstborn through his
two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And as I said, Reuben had forfeited,
but it was God's will. And Joseph was the firstborn
of Jacob and Rachel. Number two, Joseph's sons were
Gentiles, as they were born of an Egyptian mother in Egypt.
They were not citizens of the family of Israel. And they had
no legal rights in that family. So how then could Joseph have
a posterity in the nation of his father, Jacob? And it was
only by Jacob adopting Joseph's children. He adopted them. And Jacob adopted them as his
own for Joseph's sake. And what a picture of our adoption
in Christ. Think about that. Our adoption
and our salvation by God's grace in Christ. Because by nature
now, as we're fallen in Adam and born dead in trespasses and
sins and we're sinners, what are we by nature? We're strangers,
we're foreigners to the commonwealth of spiritual Israel. But we've
been legally adopted into God's eternal spiritual family for
Christ's sake, just like these boys were adopted into Jacob's
family for Joseph's sake. We've been adopted into God's
spiritual family for Christ's sake. And it was all based upon
his righteousness imputed to us. This is a legal matter now.
Now that doesn't mean that adoption is legal and nothing else. I
hear people say, well, you're just saying it's just legal.
No, Joseph's sons are gonna receive the blessing. And just like us,
and we'll look at that in just a moment. But the third reason
is, it was the Lord's intention that one of Joseph's son would
receive the blessing of the firstborn. from Jacob and all according
to God's sovereignty who blesses and saves whom he will according
to his sovereign will and mercy in Christ. And Jacob well knew
about this because think about it. Now what's going to happen?
We'll see this next week. Manasseh was the oldest. Ephraim
was the youngest. But we're going to see that God
determined in his sovereign will that Ephraim, not Manasseh, received
the double blessing of the firstborn. And you say, well, that doesn't
sound right. Well, what about Jacob and Esau? Esau was the
eldest, but Jacob received the blessing. The elder shall serve
the younger. Well, what's that all about?
God says it, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, I
will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. So then it's not
of him that willeth, it's not of him that runneth, it's of
God that showeth mercy. This is the glory of God in his
wisdom, in his providence. And we see that. And you know,
one other thing, look back at Genesis 41. When Jacob named these, or Joseph
named these two boys, verse 51 and 52, Genesis 41, 51, yeah,
Genesis 41, verse 51. Remember what their names mean?
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for God said
he hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. What does that remind you of,
spiritually? Repentance of dead works. When God brings us into
his family, he adopts us legally and then he gives us the spirit
of adoption and brings us to faith in Christ and what do we
do? We look to Christ and rest in his blood and righteousness
alone for all salvation and we forget about all our toil. All our works are what? Dead
works, dumb. And we forget about our father's
house. Now what he's talking about there
is our natural father. You see, by nature, we were essentially
in another family, the family of Satan, by nature now. I know
God adopted us before the foundation of the world. We were his children,
but we didn't know it, and by nature, having fallen in Adam,
and having been born in trespasses and sins, and having been sinners
ourselves, we followed another course, the course of another
family. But now, we repent of that. And
then look at verse 52, in the name of the second he called
Ephraim, for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land
of my affliction. Fruitfulness in Christ, I'm the
vine, you're the branches, you'll bear fruit. Now obviously, too,
you'll notice that the name Ephraim is very close to the name Ephratah. We'll see that Latin, I think,
next week. Ephratah is another name for
Bethlehem. Remember in the book of Micah,
Bethlehem Ephratah, that's where the Lord was born in his humanity.
So all that comes together, doesn't it? I mean, this thing is just
fascinating to me. how it all comes together, how
it all supports the gospel of God's grace in Christ. But now
look back here. Now let me just say a few words
about this adoption. This is how the two boys were
legally introduced into the inheritance of Joseph. Again, Joseph is the
rightful heir to Jacob because Reuben had forfeited. So they're introduced into the
heirship of someone who's living and who is the heir. And that's
how it is with us when we're adopted into God's family. We're
adopted into the heirship of someone who is living and who
is the heir, and that's Jesus Christ. And that's why we're
called joint heirs with Christ. He's living. And so that's the
precise way in which we're introduced into the family of God, first
legally and then spiritually. And the Bible says that we're
joint heirs with Christ. Let's look at some scripture. Look at Ephesians chapter one. This thing of adoption. Going through this, and I think
we talked about it several months ago, some of us. I think adoption
is a neglected doctrine, kind of. We need to learn more about
this reality of adoption. Adoption, before it is a spiritual
matter, rising up within our hearts by the power of the spirit,
it's first of all a legal matter. And so, it is very related to
the glorious doctrine of imputation. want to show you that. Look at
Ephesians chapter 1 and look at verse 3. It says, blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now that's
before we even know anything about it, isn't it? This is before
we were born. How you know? Verse four, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved. Our adoption, before the foundation
of the world was based upon being accepted in the beloved. That's Christ. And then look
over at Galatians chapter four. Just a few pages before this.
Understanding this issue of adoption. In verse four. Now God adopted
us in his mind and in his purpose as his children based upon what
Christ would come and accomplish on the cross. Because anytime
you adopt a child, if we went and we're going to adopt a child,
that has to be legally valid. All legal obstacles have to be
removed and all legal conditions have to be met before we can
adopt a child. And once those things are met,
then we go to the child and bring him into our family. Well look
here in Galatians four and verse four. Now we see there in Ephesians
one that this took place in the mind and purpose of God before
the foundation of the world. And let me tell you something
about that, that's a reality. That's not some kind of a fake
adoption, okay? God says it, that settles it,
isn't that right? Y'all believe that? I do. Well,
look at Galatians four and verse four. But when the fullness of
the time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law, to pay
our debt to God's law and justice as our surety, our substitute,
our redeemer, that we might receive the adoption of sons, that we
might receive it. And because you are sons, Not
in order to become sons, but because you are sons, God hath
sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. So because we have been adopted
based upon the redemptive work of Christ, God sends his spirit
into our hearts to give us the spirit of adoption. Look at Romans
chapter eight. And I'm having you turn all this
because we need to understand this now. Verse 15, for you have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the
spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children
of God. And if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and join heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer
with him, that we may be also glorified together. You see that?
So there's a legal aspect to adoption, and that legal issue
was settled at the cross, but we were already adopted in the
mind and purpose of God. It was real then. It didn't become
real when Christ died, but it was settled, and it's real now. It didn't become real when the
Spirit gave us the spirit of adoption. That was inevitable.
That was the fruit of what Christ accomplished on the cross. And
so go back to Genesis 48 now. Now, these two boys, they are heirs
of Jacob now. And as children of God, we share
in all of Christ's rights and privileges, blessed with all
spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. And the adoption and the
blessings of heirship were given to the sons of Joseph, the sons
of Joseph because Joseph who was the savior of the family.
And the right of heirship and all the blessings of it were
given to us because of Christ who is the savior of his family. Isn't that a blessing? The blessings
of heirship given to us because Christ. Now this is what biblical
adoption is all about. And this also is the doctrine
of imputation because these two boys, now when Jacob adopted
them, These two sons are reckoned from that time forward to be
whose sons? Jacob's. Now they're not physically
Jacob's sons. They're physically Joseph's.
But Joseph adopted them and they're to be reckoned. Now that word
reckoned means imputed. Legally, they're Jacob's sons.
And from that time on. But they're reckoned by God to
be the sons of Jacob, and that's precisely what happens when sinners
like us, as children of God, are reckoned righteous in the
sight of God by virtue of Christ's righteousness imputed to us.
That's the way God looks upon us. Now there are those today
who call that illegal fiction, but it's not fiction. How do you know it's not fiction?
Well, I can tell you two great ways you know it's not fiction.
Number one, Christ had to die on the cross. Why did he have
to die? To save his people from their
sins. And how could God justly do that? By our sins being imputed
to him. He was legally accounted condemned. He was made a curse for us. He
was made sin and he had to die. And then the next thing that
shows us that it's not fiction is because dead sinners like
us are given life by the spirit from Christ. And he sheds abroad
in our hearts that spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba,
Father. Think about that. People who
call it a legal fiction, they don't understand the gospel doctrine
of justification or imputation or any of it. Jacob adopts Manasseh
and Ephraim. They're his own sons. They're
to be accounted as Jacob's sons, not just his grandsons. Again,
this is not just some sentimental old grandfather saying, oh, they're
really mine. No, no, they're really his by
legal adoption. And Joseph didn't object because
he too knows that this is all according to God's promise and
all according to God's providence. This is the way God would have
it. And that's an important lesson for anybody who doesn't think
it's possible for God to look at a person and reckon that person
righteous even though that person is unrighteous in himself. You know, there are some who
believe that God would be unjust to reckon or account a person
righteous by virtue of the merits of Christ unless God first makes
them righteous within. And that's why they call it a
legal fiction. They say that God would be unjust to look at
an individual and reckon to him the benefits of the merit of
someone else when he's a sinner in himself. But that's not true. In fact, that's the whole mystery
of the gospel. How can God do that and still
be God, still be holy, still be righteous and just? The Bible
makes a great deal of that. From Genesis to Revelation, it's
the heart of the gospel. And it's by virtue of the merits
of Christ. And so when God looks down from
heaven on his children, he does not see us condemned in our sins,
though we are sinners. Why? Because we're clothed in
the righteousness of Christ imputed, accounted to us. And it's not
a legal fiction. I tell people, you can call it
a legal fiction if you will, if that's what you want, but
the Bible does not. This is reality. Let's read one
more verse and I'll quit. Verse seven. And as for me, Jacob
says, 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. Now that's Ephrath, Ephratah. And I buried her there in the
way of Ethrath, and the same as Bethlehem. Now, what does
that do? What that does, It shows us and
proves that everything that's happening here in this adoption,
everything that's happening here in this legal reality is all
having in mind the coming of Christ into the world to save
his people from their sins. It's all about Christ. That's what it's for and that's
the goal of this adoption. All right.