Genesis 47-48
Even if we can’t change our story, God can use our story to change us. God may not rewrite our story but he can redeem it.
Outline
- First, God redeems our scars (47:1-12)
- God redeems our scars by fulfilling his promises (47:1-6)
- God redeems our scars by refocusing our perspective (47:7-12)
- Second, God redeems our suffering (47:13-31)
- God redeems our suffering by allowing it to reveal the instability around us (47:13)
- God redeems our suffering by allowing it to reveal the insecurity before us (47:18)
- God redeems our suffering by allowing it to reveal the infidelity within us (47:23-26 )
- God redeems our suffering by responding to our infidelity with faithfulness (47:27-31)
- Third, God redeems our story (48:1-22)
- God redeems our story through adoption (48:1-7)
- God redeems our story through blessing (48:8-22)
Christ Connections
- Jacob’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is an adoption of them as he passes the covenant blessing to them. Just as they receive the blessing, we receive the undeserved covenant blessing through Christ through our adoption as sons and daughters of God.
- Jacob crosses over his arms to bless Ephraim and Manasseh, Jesus’ hands outstretched but God’s hands crossed over. Jesus takes the curse, we get the blessing. He gets judgment, we get forgiveness.
Applications
- If this world is our home and this life is all there is, then we have every reason to be crushed by our scars. Just like Jacob, we are called to see ourselves as strangers and exiles on earth, this is not our home. This doesn’t make our scars less painful, but it can make them feel more purposeful. God uses things we’d never choose to work in us in ways we’d never change our scars don’t have to define us but they can refine us.