Day 108 – Genesis 48:21-22
God Shall Be With You
Scripture Reading – Genesis 48:21-22
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
Genesis 48:21 KJV
Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
Genesis 48:22 KJV
Scripture Review
Jacob tells Joseph, “Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.” Death is certain, yet it is not the end of the sentence. Jacob cannot accompany Joseph through all that remains, but the covenant God can. He also gives Joseph an additional portion associated with Shechem.
The best promise Jacob leaves is not that the family will avoid trouble. Egypt will eventually become a place of bondage. His confidence is that God will remain with them and bring them again. The presence of an aging leader is temporary; the presence and word of God are not. Faithful succession points people beyond the person they are losing to the Lord who will still be there.
Jacob meant to settle Joseph’s inheritance and prepare him for a future in which his father would no longer be present.
God meant to keep the family after Jacob’s death and assure them that His presence and promise of return would outlast every human leader.
What this asks of me
I should not make another person’s presence the foundation of my faith. God often uses parents, pastors, teachers, and friends, but none can travel every mile with me. I honor them best by trusting the Lord to whom they point. I should also prepare others to follow God when my own part is finished.
Consider
- Whose presence have I begun to treat as though faith cannot continue without it?
- Am I preparing those I influence to depend upon God rather than upon me?