Jacob’s final blessings to his 12 sons are very interesting. Clearly, he marks out Judah as the heir apparent of the leadership of the family and thus the one from whom the ultimate leader of the Nation will come. We call the future figure the Messiah. He is referred to here as “the Lion from the tribe of Judah.” This is where the character in the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan, comes from. He also refers to this messiah as the one to whom the legitimate rule belongs. But it wasn’t Judah’s blessing that caught my attention this morning, it was Joseph’s blessing. It seems that Jacob again reveals Joseph as his favorite. I’d like to have a blessing like this: Genesis 49:25 says, “May the God of your father help you. May the Almighty bless you with all the blessings of heaven above and all the blessings of the watery depth below and all the blessings of the breast and womb.”
There are three kinds of blessings that Jacob extends to Joseph. The first is blessings of “heaven.” According to the translator’s handbook, “…these are the typical blessings of fertility, asking for abundant crops that come about from dew, rain, and sunshine.”1 The second blessings are “of the deep.” The handbook continues its comments, “Here it is a poetic way of picturing the waters that are stretched out under the earth, ready to be applied for the good of people according to God’s blessings.” The last blessing involves the “breast and the womb.” The handbook says this refers to “the reproduction of animals and humans.” If we look at all these as a figure of speech however, we might see them as including every possible good thing from everywhere. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:10-11, that God has given Jesus the Name above every other name and at that name, “…every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We too have been blessed with those above. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” He also tells the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 9:8 that “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times…” As a matter of fact, James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Jacob is giving Joseph the blessing above all other blessings. He calls upon his God to give this favorite son every spiritual blessing from above, every blessing from the depth of the earths hidden in the seas, and every blessing upon the earth in his children and relationships. May the Lord bless you that way! May he pour out heavenly blessings from above upon you. May he raise up from the depths all the joys hidden from your sight. May He bless you through all your human relationships. May that begin today!
1 William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998), 1097.