November 16 | Genesis 48-49 | Jacob's Blessings
Think of a ‘mountaintop moment’ or season of life in which you were able to reflect with some perspective. What lessons did you learn? Why can’t we stay ‘on the mountaintop’?
Read Genesis 48:1-4. Here, Jacob prepares to bless Joseph’s sons by recounting God’s blessings to him at Luz (Gen 28:13-15; 35:9-12). Why is the former blessing from God important as Jacob prepares to pronounce blessings of his own?
Read Genesis 48:8-16. What does Jacob have to tell us about God’s faithfulness as he approaches the end of his life?
Though Jacob has been reunited with Joseph for 17 years (47:28), yet he is still overcome with emotion as he gazes upon his son and grandsons. Why is it so significant to him to see and know them? What hope does his joy give you in light of your own losses and sorrows?
Read Genesis 49:1-12. Reuben’s sin (see Gen 35:22) disqualifies him from ‘preeminence’, as do the sins of Simeon and Levi (see Gen 34). Therefore, the blessing of preeminence falls to the 4th-born, Judah. What do we learn from these blessings about God’s justice & mercy?
Read Revelation 5. Here, Jesus is called ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David’ (v5). How does Jesus’ ministry fulfill the blessing given to Judah? Spend time praying through this chapter together in worship and gratitude to our great King Jesus.