Would you turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 11? Tonight, we're going to consider
the blessing of Jacob. It's where Jacob blessed the
two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. And we're going to
find out what God's blessing is. Last week we considered how
Jacob obtained the blessing of his father, Isaac, and tonight
we're going to consider the blessing of Jacob. And Jacob is a very
special character in the scripture. God calls himself by this name
more than any other name, the God of Jacob. And that's how
special Jacob is. And I want to be a Jacob, don't
you? There isn't anybody I identify with any more in the word of
God than this man, Jacob. And we read in verse 21, by faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph,
speaking of Manasseh and Ephraim, and worshipped, leaning upon
the top of his staff. Now, before we get into this
blessing of Jacob on the two sons of Joseph, I want us to
notice where it says, by faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed
both the sons of Joseph and worshipped. Now this is the introduction
of the word worship here in Hebrews chapter 11. Now one of the glorious
things of Hebrews chapter 11 is it tells us what faith does. For instance, we read in verse
3, by faith we understand. There's no understanding of God
or his gospel or his truth until I'm given this thing of God-given
faith. It's only by faith that we understand. And then in Hebrews 11, verse
4, we read, By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
that came. He offered up the sacrifice of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's only by faith I can
do this. And then we read in verses 5 and 6 how by faith Enoch
pleased God. The only way I can please God
is if I have this thing of faith, this God-given gift where I actually
believe God. And then we read in verse 7 where
Noah moved with fear, the moving of faith. It believes God and
it moves on what he says. And then we read in verse 8,
where Abraham obeyed God. There's the obedience of faith,
and there's no obedience of God without faith. It takes faith
to obey God. And then in verses 9 and 10,
we read of the sojourning of faith, how if you have faith,
it makes you live in this life, on this planet, as a stranger
and a pilgrim. We read of the receiving act
of faith where Sarah receives strength. Only faith receives
that which comes from God. The flesh doesn't do it. And
then we read of the accounting of faith with Abraham, how he
believed that God would raise his son from the dead because
God had promised it. And then last week we saw the
how faith obtains a blessing, and tonight we're going to consider
the worship of faith. There is no worship without faith. Now, here's the first question
I want to ask. What is worship? What is worship? I want to worship
God, whatever that means. What is worship? The word means,
literally, to fawn like a dog. You ever seen a dog when it's
afraid, it's displeased, it's mastered how it crouches down
in fear? That's what the Bible calls worship. Or to lick, to kiss like a dog
licks its master's hand. That's worship. To fall prostrate,
to fall on your face in awe and reverence. That's worship. Now, you couldn't do that with
a man, could you? Oh, we love men, but we couldn't fall on
our face before them in awe and reverence. We wouldn't fawn and
cringe before them. They're just men. They put on
their pants just like we do. We don't worship men in that
sense. I mean, men are men. The man
at his best state is altogether vanity. I'm looking at some people
who I love dearly, but I realize what you are and what I am. At
our best state, we're altogether vanity. God only is to be worshipped. Do you remember when Satan told
the Lord to He said, all the kingdoms of the world I'll give
you if you'll fall down and worship me. And the Lord said, get thee
hence, Satan, for it is written. It is written. Thou shalt serve the Lord only,
and worship him only, him only shalt thou serve. Jesus Christ is God. He's the
object of divine worship. You know, when people fell down
before him, he didn't say like John did when they fell down
before him, get up, I'm just a man. No, he accepted their
worship. He's the object of divine worship. It's to fall down in awe. before him, his greatness and
his majesty. And when you worship the Lord,
you worship him for who he is. You don't worship him simply
out of what you can get out of him. You worship him for who
he is. He's to be worshipped. He's worthy of worship if he
didn't do anything for me or you. You believe that? What if
he didn't do a thing for you and let you go to hell and didn't
save you? Would he still be worthy of worship? That's what it is to worship.
When that leper came to him, he didn't know if the Lord was
going to do anything for him, but he came and fell down before
him and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. He didn't know whether the Lord
would do it. He hoped he would, but he knew he was to be worshipped
whether he did it or not. What about that Syrophoenician
woman? She comes seeking his help, but he doesn't pay the
attention to her. She continues asking, and he says, I'm not
sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The scripture
says, Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Now, she didn't know whether
or not he would, but he was to be worshipped for who he is. Remember the gathering demonic,
filled with devils, the scriptures he says he came and fell down
and worshipped him, saying, what have I to do with thee? Are you
come to torment me before the time? But he worshipped him.
He didn't know if he was going to do anything for him, but he
worshipped him for who he is. He is to be worshipped for who
he is, whether he does anything for me or you or not. Now the Lord said, God is spirit. Remember in John chapter four,
God is spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit
and in truth. It takes God the Holy Spirit
to worship. You can't just up and worship God. And I've said
this several times. I don't tell people indiscriminately,
come worship with us. I want you to come hear the gospel.
I want you to believe, and if God gives you the grace to worship,
I want you to worship. But I'm not going to say indiscriminately
to people, come worship with us, as if you can do that. Only
God the Holy Spirit can enable you to truly worship. God is
Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit
and in truth. There is no worship apart from
the truth of the Gospel, the truth of who God is, holy, sovereign,
in control, the truth of who I am, nothing but a sinner, the
truth of who Christ is, and His salvation is utterly in Him.
There is no worship of God apart from the truth. And there is
no worship without faith. Jacob, this old man, dying, leaning
upon his bless both the sons of Joseph and worshiped." Oh,
that God will enable you and I to do that. Now, by faith,
Jacob blessed Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Now, who
are these two boys? Would you turn to Genesis 41?
Genesis 41. Verse 50. Now, the setting of this. Was
after Joseph had been made the head man in Egypt. Remember,
he's gone from prison to being the most powerful man in Egypt
to this point, if you've got anything to eat, it was up to
him. your life or your death was in his hands." Joseph, the
glorious picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph, oh Joseph. Verse 50, And unto Joseph were
born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath
the daughter of Potiphar, the priest of on barren, to him.
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. And my
marginal reading says that means forgetting. For God, said he,
hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And
the name of the second called he Ephraim. And my marginal reading
says Ephraim means fruitful. For God hath caused me to be
fruitful in the land of my affliction. would have been what the world
would call the man with bad luck, wouldn't it? His brothers hated
him. They despised him. As soon as
they had opportunity, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. He was his father's favorite.
Remember, his father gave him the coat of many colors. He was
the father's favorite, but his brothers hated him for that,
and they sold him into Egypt. Now, while he was in Egypt, away
from his father's house, he prospered. And what happened? His master's wife accused him
of rape. He was accused of a crime he
did not commit, and he was thrown into prison. And there he is,
rotting in prison. What bad luck, what bad circumstances
for this man. And as he's in prison, God blesses
him even then. And the prisoner, the prison
keeper, makes him the head of the prison. And you remember
the story, how he interpreted those two fellows' dreams, the
butcher and the baker. He said, the butler and the baker,
the butler will be restored and the baker will have his head
cut off and it happened. And they forgot him. What bad
luck. What miserable circumstances,
there he is rotting in that prison, away from his family, away from
everybody he loved, stuck in that prison. And you remember
how God brought him out and made him, after he interpreted those
dreams, and made him the ruler over all of Egypt. I love that
passage of scripture you read this morning. That was such a
blessing from Genesis 45, when he made himself known to his
brethren. He said, you meant it for evil, but God meant it
for good. Now, as Jacob, I mean Joseph,
is thinking about all the Lord has brought him through, he has
these two boys. The first one's name is Manasseh,
and he says, God is using him to cause me to forget all the
hard times I've had. Forgetfulness. And he causes,
and he names the next boy, Ephraim, fruitfulness. God has caused
me to be fruitful, not merely. Forgiven, and that's what forgetfulness
represents, this forgetfulness it represents, you know, their
sins and iniquities, I remember no more. God doesn't remember
my sin because there's nothing there to remember. I'm justified.
And not only am I justified, I'm sanctified, I'm fruitful. God has caused me to bear fruit.
This is the blessing every believer enjoys. Ephraim and Manasseh.
Now, God used these boys to make Jacob, or Joseph, rejoice. Now, it's time for Jacob to die.
Turn over to Genesis 48. Verse 1, 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, Manasseh and Ephraim. Now, this is some years after
what we read about. These are teenage boys at this
time. And one told Jacob and said,
Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. And Israel strengthened
himself and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God
Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan. and
bless me." You know, the Lord loved Jacob. He said, Jacob,
have I loved. You look at Jacob's character,
there's nothing too much good you can say about it, is there?
In and of himself, he was a deceitful, sinful, weak man. Now that's the facts regarding
this man. But God loved him. He said, Jacob, have I loved. He saw him in his son, and he
blessed him. Oh, how he blessed him. Remember,
he changed his name from Jacob to Israel. As a prince, thou
hast power and favor with God. Jacob was a special man. The
Lord blessed him. I want to have his blessing,
don't you? I want to be a Jacob. Oh, I want to be a Jacob. Now,
let's go on reading. Verse 4. And he said unto me, Behold,
I will make thee fruitful. and will multiply thee, and I
will make of thee a multitude of people, and will give this
land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And
now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto
thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee in Egypt, are
mine, as Reuben and Simeon. They shall be mine." Now he says,
these two boys of yours, they belong to me. And what he meant
by that is they are going to get a share in the land of Canaan. There's going to be a tribe of
Ephraim and Manasseh. They're going to get this glorious
share. He's not just saying, I'm taking your boys. He's saying
they're going to be having the same thing that all of the sons
of Jacob have. They're going to have this special
relationship. Now, he didn't see him at this time. Because
he was blind as a bat. Look what verse 10 says. Now
the eyes of Israel were dimmed for age so that he could not
see. He was in darkness. He knew Joseph's
voice. He knew Joseph had these two
boys. He was blind. I don't believe at this time
he knew they were in the room. But he tells Joseph, this is what is
going to take place with these boys. Verse 6, And thy issue
which thou begettest after them shall be thine, and shall be
called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
And as for me, When I came from Pagan, Rachel died by me in the
land of Canaan, the way when you were, when yet there was
but a little way to come into Epipheth. And I buried her there
in the way of Epipheth, the same as Bethlehem. And Israel beheld
Joseph's son. I guess he saw the sons. I guess
he saw the outline of them. And but he couldn't see him.
He said, who are these? Who are these? Who are these
boys that are with you? He didn't know at this time they
were Ephraim and Manasseh. And Joseph said to his father,
They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he
said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dimmed
for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near
unto him, and he kissed them, and embraced them. And Israel
said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, and, lo, God
hath showed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from
between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the
earth. And Joseph took them, both Ephraim in his right hand
toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left toward Israel's
right hand, and brought them near unto him. Now picture what
it is. He puts Ephraim toward his left hand, so Jacob would
bless him with his right hand, the chief blessing, and the other
the opposite. He had it worked out. Who would
get the chief blessing? But look what happened. Verse 14. And Israel stretched
out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head. Now, Joseph
wanted him to lay it on Manasseh's head, but he laid it upon Ephraim's
head. Manasseh was the firstborn and
he thought he should get the first blessing. But Ephraim is
the one who gets the first blessing, and his left hand upon Manasseh's
head, guiding his hands willingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
And he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham
and Isaac did walk, that God would shed me all my life long
unto this day. And that word, fed, is shepherded.
The Lord was Jacob's shepherd. The Lord's my shepherd. He shepherded
me every day. Aren't you thankful for that?
The Lord is my shepherd. He says in verse 16, the angel
which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads. And here's the
blessing. Let my name be named upon them. In the name of my fathers, Abraham
and Isaac. and let him grow into a multitude
in the midst of the earth. When Joseph saw that his father
laid his right hand upon the hand of Ephraim, it displeased
him, and he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's
head into Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father,
Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put thy right
hand upon his head. And his fathers refused and said, I know it,
my son, I know it. He also shall become a people
and he shall be great. But truly his younger brother
shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude
of nations. And he blessed them that day,
saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee
as Ephraim and Manasseh. And he sent Manasseh, or Ephraim,
before Manasseh. Now what was the blessing? One
blessing. One blessing. What was the blessing
that Jacob gave these two boys? It wasn't riches and wealth and
health. It was his name. Let my name
be upon them. Now, why was it that Jacob chose
to bless Ephraim fruitfulness over Manasseh forgetfulness. They're both great blessings,
and you won't have fruit without forgetfulness. The only way you'll
ever bear fruit is if God forgets your sins. And the only way he
can forget your sins is if he makes them to where they're not
to be, to where you don't have any sins. And when he forgets
your sins, you will bear fruit. But what is the greatest blessing?
A clean slate, forgetfulness, or fruitfulness? What's the greatest blessing?
Never doing anything wrong or only doing that which is right.
Now, you can't have the blessing of fruitfulness without the blessing
of forgetfulness, but the blessing of fruitfulness is the chief
blessing. And Jacob put his name upon these
boys. By what name is God called more
than any other name? Now, this is so special. The
God of Jacob. The God of Jacob. Can you see
what a blessing you would have if Jacob's name is on you? If
your name is Jacob? He says, My name is upon these
boys. Remember, Jacob have I loved. Now, when Jacob's name is on
somebody, you know who else's name is on them? God's name. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me show you that in scripture.
Turn to Psalm 24. This is how important it is to have his name. Psalm 24. Verse 6. This is the generation of them
that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob." Now, he's not
talking about seeking the face of Jacob. The man here, God Himself,
is called Jacob. If you have Jacob's name, you
have the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's the name you
answer to. You remember last week? What's the one name? What's the one name that Jacob
would answer to? And I guarantee you he was scared.
But when his father said, Are you my son Esau? He said, Yes,
I am. And the only name that I'll answer
to is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If I hear Todd's name,
I'm not saying anything. That won't do me any good. I
want to hear the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
the only name I'll answer to. He said, I'll put my name upon
them. This is the name wherewith she shall be called the Lord
our righteousness. If Jacob is my name, the Lord
himself is my name. That's my way into the Father.
Now you see what a special blessing it is to have the name of Jacob.
What else would you need to have the name of Jacob? You have the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Psalm 47 verse 4, I just read
this, we read of the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Now this
man Jacob, as bad as he was in himself, just like me and you,
as bad as we are in ourselves, yet God beholds no iniquity in
Jacob. Why does God behold no iniquity
in Jacob? Because there is no iniquity
in Jacob. That is the excellency of Jacob. His sin has been put away. He
has no sin. He has the very righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm looking at some people
who God would say, they're excellent people. The excellency of Jacob,
whom he loved. To be a Jacob is to have God's
love on you. He said, Jacob have I loved,
and Esau have I hated. Now if God loves everybody the
same, his love is meaningless. He doesn't do anybody any good.
If he loves all men the same, and then they end up going to
hell, what good does his love do him? Not a thing. But oh,
his special love, his special love, his saving love. To have
God love me, Jacob have I loved? The excellency of Jacob, whom
he loved, Jacob is his chosen. Psalm 78, 71 says, He fed His
people, Jacob. Now, if my name is Jacob, that's
the name of all of His people. That means He feeds me. That means He is my God and I
am His people. He feeds His people, Jacob. He's shepherd to His people,
Jacob. That means I've got God for me.
If I'm a Jacob, that means all that God is, is behind me and
for me. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Can you see what a great blessing
this is to have the name of Jacob? I'll answer to that name. He
said, let my name be upon him. Jacob is called in Psalm 133,
his Jacob, his chosen. He's chosen. That means I'm one
of God's elect if I'm a Jacob. That means God chose me. And
if God chooses me, I must be saved. Jacob is God's chosen. And then we read in Isaiah 14.1
that the Lord will have mercy on Jacob. That means if I'm a
Jacob, God's going to have mercy on me. And oh, how I must have
mercy. I must have his mercy toward
me if I'm a Jacob. I've got God's mercy. Isaiah
chapter 49, 44 verse 3 says, the Lord has redeemed Jacob. That means if I'm a Jacob, all
my sins have been paid for, I've been redeemed. Listen to this
scripture. God said to Cyrus, the heathen
king, in Isaiah chapter 45, for Jacob, my servant's sake, have
I called thee. Now, Cyrus didn't know God. But
God said, everything I'm doing with you, making you the king
of Persia and making you to do this and that and the other,
I'm doing it for Jacob's sake. You know what that means? That
means if you're a Jacob, you have all of God's providence
working together for your good and for his glory. You want to
be a Jacob? He said, That's where Jacob, my servant,
said, now here's my question. Am I Jacob? Is that my name? Can I honestly, can I find a
reason in the scriptures to think I'm a Jacob? Because if I have
Jacob's name upon me, I have all of God's blessing. I have
all of God's love. I have all of God's protection.
I have all of God's redemption. I've got all of God's mercy.
I'm the chosen of God, and I want to be that. I'm not arguing against
why didn't he love Esau. I can see why he didn't. But
I want to be a Jacob, don't you? Now, how can I know from the
scriptures whether or not I am a Jacob? Well, turn with me to
Isaiah chapter 41. Now, before I read this scripture,
I remember hearing Scott Richardson read this passage of scripture.
And before he read it, he made this statement. He said, you
have no right to take a promise in the Bible to yourself. Unless
you personally fit the description of the one that the promise is
made to. Now that's good, isn't it? Okay,
remember that as we read Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10. Now he's speaking to Jacob, and
he says, Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for
I am thy God, I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee,
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed
and confounded, and they shall be as nothing, and they that
strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and thou
shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee. They
that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of
naught. For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying
unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee." How would you like to
have God say that to you? Hold you by the right hand, and say,
Fear not, I will help thee. Verse 14, Fear not, thou worm Jacob. You know, when you hear someone
that seems insincere saying, I'm nothing but a worm, I'm just
a sinful person. They're just saying what they
know they're supposed to be saying. It's offensive, isn't it? I don't like to hear people talk
like that. But when God says to Jacob, fear
not thou worm, Jacob. You reckon Jacob got offended? You reckon he said, why is he
calling me something like that? No. Jacob knew. That's a description of him. You know, when we sing that song,
Alas, and did my Savior bleed and did my sovereign die? Would
he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? Do you have
a hard time singing that? Fear not thou worm, Jacob. Somebody says, I'm no worm. Well,
then he wasn't talking to you then. He just wasn't talking
to you. But if you fit this description
in and of yourself, you're nothing but sin. And you can answer to
this description, fear not thou worm, Jacob. All these promises
of blessing are for you. You are a Jacob. And God is for you. And all your
sin has been put away. And you are promised God's help. Now, somebody says, how could
he love someone described as a worm? I know the answer to
that question. In Psalm 22, verse 6, The Lord Jesus Christ, and that's
the psalm of the cross. He repeated that psalm on the
cross. As he was made sin for his people,
he said, I am a worm. And no man, not even fit to be
called a man. And because he said that regarding
himself, every Jacob is beautiful in God's sight. And He doesn't
love you as a worm, although you know that's what you are.
He loves you just as He loves His perfect Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's how He can say, Fear not,
thou worm, Jacob. Oh, the great blessing in having
the name of Jacob. Back once to Genesis 45, and
we'll close with this, or Genesis 48. Verse 17. And when Joseph saw that his
father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased
him, and he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's
head into Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father,
Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put thy right
hand upon his head. And his father refused and said,
I know it, my son, I know it. He shall also become a people,
and he shall also be great, but truly his younger shall be greater
than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he
blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying,
God make thee, this is God's chief blessing, as Ephraim and
Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. Now these two boys, when God's,
when Jacob's name is placed upon you, that means this. God has forgotten all your sin
right now. And the way he has forgotten
it is because there's nothing there for him to remember. It's
been put away. Manessa, forgotten. But not only has he forgotten
your sin, you're fruitful. You might not even know it. But
you are. You have the blessing of God.
You have the fruit of God the Holy Spirit. Oh, Jacob. Let's pray.