“Joseph is a fruitful tree,
a fruitful tree by a spring,
a fruitful tree by a spring,
with branches climbing over a wall.
23
Archers provoked him,
shot at him,
and attacked him.
24
But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber
because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
because of the El of your father who helps you,
because of the Shadday who gives you
blessings from the heavens above,
blessings from the deep springs below the ground,
blessings from breasts and womb.
The blessings of your father are greater than
the blessings of the oldest mountains
and the riches of the ancient hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince among his brothers.
Genesis 49:22-27
1. TO BLESS YOUR CHILDREN: HELP THEM INTERPRET LIFE IN LIGHT OF GOD'S PERSPECTIVE.
Derek Kidner observes (Genesis [IVP], p. 221) that the thought here “moves from the present, the summer of Joseph’s days, back to the stresses of the past, and behind both to God, whose array of titles forms the rich centerpiece of the Oracle. Then His profusion of blessings is called down on Joseph, carrying the thought on into the future.” Jacob uses the metaphor of a fruitful vine planted by a spring to describe Joseph’s present situation. Then he uses the metaphor of an archer under attack to describe Joseph’s past trials. The two metaphors are tied together by showing that the reason for Joseph’s present fruitfulness was that he had endured past trials in the strength of God, who is described by five different titles as His future blessings are invoked.
Derek Kidner observes (Genesis [IVP], p. 221) that the thought here “moves from the present, the summer of Joseph’s days, back to the stresses of the past, and behind both to God, whose array of titles forms the rich centerpiece of the Oracle. Then His profusion of blessings is called down on Joseph, carrying the thought on into the future.” Jacob uses the metaphor of a fruitful vine planted by a spring to describe Joseph’s present situation. Then he uses the metaphor of an archer under attack to describe Joseph’s past trials. The two metaphors are tied together by showing that the reason for Joseph’s present fruitfulness was that he had endured past trials in the strength of God, who is described by five different titles as His future blessings are invoked.
Jacob wasn’t telling Joseph anything new. Years before, while going through these trials, Joseph had realized that even though his brothers meant evil against him, God meant it for good (45:5-9; 50:20). Even when Joseph was falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten, he knew that God was sovereign. Here Jacob affirms Joseph’s interpretation of his life from God’s perspective. He is saying that Joseph was fruitful because he had endured these trials in God’s strength.
He uses the metaphor of a boy whose father is teaching him to shoot a bow and arrow. The boy isn’t strong enough to pull the bow back all the way and hold it steady on the target. So the father wraps his arms around the boy, puts his strong hands over the boy’s hands, pulls back the bowstring and aims it at the target. The boy is a strong archer because of his father’s strength. It’s a beautiful picture of being strong in the strength of God our Father. There are three lessons here that we fathers should impart to our children to help them interpret life from God’s perspective.
A. THE LESSON OF FRUITFULNESS
God wants His children to be fruitful. I believe that as American Christians, we wrongly encourage our kids to be successful, which is man-centered. We need to encourage them to be fruitful, which is God-centered. Life isn’t to be lived for ourselves. Jesus called us to bear much fruit (John 15). Just as Joseph’s fruitful vine ran over the wall, so that the Egyptians were blessed, so we need to teach our children our responsibility to be a blessing to people of other cultures who have not heard the good news of Christ. I encourage you to read to your kids the daily missions story in the “Global Prayer Digest” and to read missionary biographies so that they see examples of fruitful lives.
B. THE LESSON OF STRENGTH
A second lesson is that our strength comes from the Lord, not from ourselves. Joseph’s vine was fruitful because it was planted near a spring. Its roots went down into that moist soil which nourished it even in times of drought. The archer under attack was strong because the mighty hands of God were placed over his hands. We need to teach our children that our strength is not from ourselves, but from the Lord. Our kids need to see that we daily go to God for strength from His Word. They need to see that through prayer we lay hold of God’s resources. As a father, you need to pray often with and for your children. Let them see that you are weak, but that the God you trust is mighty.
C. THE LESSON OF TRIALS
A godly life does not mean a life exempt from trials. In fact, fruitfulness often comes only through trials. Joseph was the most godly of Jacob’s sons, and yet he suffered the most. He was bitterly attacked by his brothers. Potiphar’s wife shot at him with her daily temptation to adultery. Potiphar harassed him by putting him in prison when he had done no wrong. The cupbearer forgot his promise to mention Joseph to Pharaoh. And yet Joseph came through it all with a lack of bitterness toward God or toward any of those who had wronged him because he trusted in the sovereign, loving God.
Our kids need to know that while following God has its benefits, it also has its trials. We don’t follow the Lord just because of what we get out of it. We follow the Lord because He is the living God and His Word is the truth. We communicate this through our example. Are we committed to the Lord as long as everything is going well, but we fall away when problems hit? Do we complain about people who have wronged us and gripe about the trials we encounter? If so, our kids aren’t going to learn to trust in our sovereign, loving God. To bless your children, help them to interpret all of life, including life’s trials, from God’s perspective.
2. TO BLESS YOUR CHILDREN, WALK INTO A PERSONAL REALITY WITH GOD.
There’s nothing that turns kids away from the Lord more than to have a father who preaches religion but who does not truly walk with God. I’m convinced that the greatest thing we can do to help our children go on with the Lord is for us to walk into personal reality with God. I’m not talking about perfection, but a humble faith that relates God to every aspect of life.
Jacob was far from a perfect father. His relationship with God had its ups and downs. And yet in spite of his problems, Jacob did know God personally. Here he is bold enough to call God “the Mighty One of Jacob,” “the stone of Israel” (Jacob’s God-given name), “the God of your father” (49:24, 25). Years before, Jacob had referred to God as the God of his father and the God of Abraham (31:5, 42). But now Jacob calls God his God. These names of God reflect Jacob’s personal relationship with God.
They also show that Jacob had trusted God in the practical situations of life. He had learned who God is by depending on Him in the crises of life. Jacob was a schemer, but God had taught him that his schemes were worthless. God had proven Himself mighty in protecting Jacob from the anger of Esau and Laban, both of whom could have killed him. God again proved Himself mighty in keeping the Canaanites from attacking Jacob after his sons had slaughtered the Shechemites. God had led Jacob as a Shepherd, protecting him from danger and guiding him in the paths of righteousness. (The phrase, “from there” [49:24] is probably an emphatic way of saying that God is the source of everything implied by these various names.) Through the trials of the loss of Joseph and the famine, when he thought he might lose all his sons and even his own life, Jacob had learned to rely on God as a rock, a sure foundation on whom he might stand firm.
Jacob knew that God not only was his help, but also the One who could help his sons (“the God of your father who helps you,” [49:25]). That’s an important lesson of faith for parents when you learn that God can be the God of your children and that you entrust them to His care. If you’re from a Christian home, you need to learn the lesson both Jacob and Joseph learned, that their father’s God could be their God, too. Each child must at some point in life personalize his father’s faith into his own relationship with God.
Jacob also had come to know God as “El Shaddai,” God Almighty, the name by which God revealed Himself to Abraham (17:1). Scholars are divided on how to translate that name. Some say it comes from a root word meaning “breast,” thus pointing to God as the all-sufficient one from whom we draw our nourishment and sustenance. (The Hebrew word “shad” [breasts] occurs at the end of 49:25.) Others say it comes from a word meaning “mountain,” thus pointing to God’s strength, stability, and permanence. The name seems to be used in Genesis in situations where God’s servants are hard-pressed and needing reassurance (Kidner, p. 129). Thus it emphasizes God’s might in contrast with the frailty of man. At this time when Jacob knew that he was dying, he wanted his son to know God as the Almighty who would bless him with all that he needed in the future.
So through these names by which Jacob refers to God, we see that he had learned to know God in a personal, practical way through the trials of life. He had trusted God and found Him faithful. Jacob’s God was a big God, the Mighty One, the Almighty, who was greater than the Canaanites’ gods, greater than Pharaoh’s gods, in spite of what outward appearances may imply. In contrast with the pagan Canaanites, who possessed the land, and the successful Egyptians, Jacob was dying as a poor refugee shepherd, without having realized God’s promises concerning the land of Canaan. But in spite of these outward appearances of the apparent success of the world and the failure of God’s promises, Jacob went out by handing his sons the torch of faith in a mighty God who would certainly fulfill His promises.
So, to bless your children, help them interpret life in light of God’s perspective and walk into personal reality with the Almighty God.
Joseph, we would all have to agree, was most worthy of any blessing which Jacob might pronounce. While he is greatly blessed by God, he does not have the privilege of being the forefather of Messiah, as does Judah.
Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot at him and harassed him, but his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers (Genesis 49:22-26).
Joseph’s future is described as one of fruitfulness and abundance. He had been bitterly attacked, yet remained steadfast (verses 23-24). I believe the primary reference here to be to the rejection and persecution he experienced at the hand of his brethren. Joseph remained firm and the God of Jacob sustained him. His blessings are largely material. He will be pre-eminent among his brothers, but not in the same way as Judah. Because of Ephraim’s pride (Judges 8:1; 12:1) and apostasy (Hosea 4:17; 5:3f.), enjoyment of these blessings was not what it could have been.
Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot at him and harassed him, but his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers (Genesis 49:22-26).
Joseph’s future is described as one of fruitfulness and abundance. He had been bitterly attacked, yet remained steadfast (verses 23-24). I believe the primary reference here to be to the rejection and persecution he experienced at the hand of his brethren. Joseph remained firm and the God of Jacob sustained him. His blessings are largely material. He will be pre-eminent among his brothers, but not in the same way as Judah. Because of Ephraim’s pride (Judges 8:1; 12:1) and apostasy (Hosea 4:17; 5:3f.), enjoyment of these blessings was not what it could have been.
שַׁדַּי֙ וִיבָ֣רְכֶ֔ךָּ בִּרְכֹ֤ת שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ מֵעָ֔ל בִּרְכֹ֥ת תְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֣צֶת
רֹבֶ֣צֶת תָּ֑חַת בִּרְכֹ֥ת שָׁדַ֖יִם וָרָֽחַם
בִּרְכֹ֣ת אָבִ֗יךָ גָּֽבְרוּ֙
גָּֽבְרוּ֙ עַל־ בִּרְכֹ֣ת הוֹרַ֔י עַֽד־
אִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר כְּבִרְכָת֖וֹ בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֹתָֽם
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Chorus
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers, we plead.
There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
