Summary: Faith is the solid, unshakable confidence in God which is built upon the assurance that He will be faithful to His promises.

#12~ JACOB: HEB.11: 21 SS 8-24-14

@@ Gen. 47: 27-31--- @@ GEN. 48:

@Today we'll continue with our study of Hebrews 11: - "the hall of faith chapter, or the catalog of the faithful chapter".

Let me remind us just what faith is:

@@~ Faith is the solid, unshakable confidence in God which is built upon the assurance that He will be faithful to His promises.

~ Every promise He has made has or will come to pass at His set time.

@@But before we read about Jacobs's faith in verse 21, I want to remind us of a few important truths to do with this epistle and chapter.

@@This is the only book in the N.T. that we're not told who the author is, but personally, I lean toward Paul being the author, but I can't say that he is for certain.

The reason that I think Paul most likely is the author is mainly from what we read in 2nd Pet.3:15

~ But before I read that, let me point out that Peter is writing his epistle to Hebrew believers, we read in;

1 Peter 2:11-12 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; -- listen, 12Having your conversation (behavior) honest among the Gentiles: -- so these were believing Jews, believers in Christ, they were among the Gentiles.

Listen as to why I read why I believe Paul is probably the writer of Hebrews; listen to what Peter says about Paul.

@@2nd. Peter 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; (JEWS) --

@@ I know of no other epistles that Paul wrote to the Hebrew believers, if he did write other epistles to the Hebrew believers we have no record of it, their not in the N.T.

@@~ Peter says in verse 15- even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

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@@In chapter 11: Paul applies what he has been saying about the superiority of Christ in earlier chapters, by warning his readers of the danger of discarding their faith in Christ.

@@ He brings to their memory the triumphs and accomplishments of faith in the lives of O.T. believers, hoping to encourage the believing Jews that might have been thinking on going back to Judaism. -- From GRACE back to the LAW.

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Listen as I read today's text verse;

Heb.11: 21By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

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@@Genesis 47: 27-31 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, (Israeli people) in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

29And the time drew nigh that Israel (Jacob) must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

31And he (Jacob) said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bedfs head.

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@The fact that Joseph put his hand under Jacob's thigh means that they entered into an oath. -- Jacob realized that the sojourn in Egypt was temporary and that God would return them to the Promised Land.

@ ~ Listen, The hope of the Old Testament is an earthly hope, the Kingdom hope. -- Abraham believed that he would be raised from the dead in the Promised Land, so he wanted to be buried there. -- Isaac believed the same thing. -- Now Jacob is expressing that same faith.

@ ~ The believers of the Old Testament will not be raptured with the N.T. Church. -- O.T. believers have earthly promises; the N.T. Church has heavenly promises.

God told Abraham in,

@Genesis 15: 7And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

Paul said in Philippians 3:20 to do with the N.T. Church.

Philippians 3: 20 For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

The O.T. Saints are not raised until after the Tribulation according to-

@Rev.20:4 -a -- And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: --- the thrones include the reigning Church with Christ, -- the O.T. saints, under David who will be co-regent under King Jesus, and other O.T. saints as the Lord sees fit to place them.

@Ezekiel 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

@~I personally believe that David will serve as the vice-regent of the Lord Jesus Christ down here on this earth, he will rule over the Israelite people, not the Church. -- Our home will be the pearly White City, not the earth.

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@---4-b- and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;

These are the tribulation martyrs of,

@ Rev. 6: 9And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

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And the last part of Rev. 20:4 -c

--- and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

~ The "they" includes all saints, The Church, O.T. believers, and the tribulation martyred believers. -- The Church is raptured before the Tribulation, the other just after the Tribulation but be the Millennium.

@ People that are saved during the Millennium will most likely be judged at the end of the Millennium. -- The lost at the White Throne Judgment, just after the Millennium.

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@@ GEN. 48:

@1And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Son's of Joseph by his Egyptian wife.

@Genesis 41:45 And Pharaoh called Josephfs name Zaph-nath-paa-neah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On.

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@48: 2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

@-- He goes by both names in this verse. -- The name, "Jacob" is usually a reminder of his earlier years in life. -- He began to have the right kind of FAITH after he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord in Gen. 32: -- in that chapter God changed his name to ISRAEL, in verse 27.

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@48:3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

@4And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

@5And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

@~ Reuben and Simeon was the 1st. of Jacobs's children to be born, they were full brothers, Leah was their mother, Rachel's older sister -- Gen. 29:31-33.

@~Jacob gave Joseph a double blessing by treating Josephfs two sons as his own, giving them an equal place in his family and numbering both of them among the twelve tribes of Israel. --- There is a difference between the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve sons of Israel.

@ ~These two sons of Joseph, (Ephraim and Manasseh) will each become a tribe, with Ephraim becoming the superior tribe. -- The 10 tribes that made up the northern kingdom were often referred to as Ephraim. -- Joshua came out of the tribe of Ephraim.

@ ~Listen, although Joseph was one of the 12 son's of Jacob, there was not a tribe of Joseph, but there were the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's two sons.

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@~ Listen, the tribe of Levi was not counted as a tribe either. --- They became the priestly tribe; they were not given any land or territory. -- The Levites were descendants of Levi. --- The work of ministering in the sanctuary (Tabernacle) was assigned to this tribe. -- They had no inheritance in Canaan, but they had the "heave offerings" that the other tribes gave.

@ >Num.18:23-24 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity:

@~This meant that the Levites were held accountable for any defilement that might come to them or to the sanctuary.

@ -- it shall be a statute (law) for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

@24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

The "Peace Offering also called a heave offering and a wave offering. --- This was a sacrificial offering, a bloody offering presented to God (Lev. 3:1; fellowship offering. --Part of the offering was eaten by the priest (representing Godfs acceptance) and part was eaten by worshipers and their guests (nonofficiating priests or Levites and the poor, Deut. 12:18; 16:11).

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@~ The LEVITES were to serve in the tabernacle of the congregation, (Israel) and they were to be supported by the tenth of Israel. "Heave offerings"

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Joseph and Levy, were not counted as tribes.

@ So along with the other 10 tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh make up the 12 tribes.

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This is their formation around the Tabernacle and in order of their marches;

The Eastern Tribes : Judah, Issachar and Zebulun

The Southern Tribes : Reuben, Simeon and Gad

The Western Tribes : Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin

The Northern Tribes : Dan, Asher and Naphtali

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-- Ephraim and Manasseh are over 17 years old when they are presented to Jacob because they were born before Jacob came to Egypt.

Genesis 47: 28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years:

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@48: 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, (other children after them) shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

@~Their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh, their brethren, and neither would they be heads of tribes. -- Other children that Joseph might have. --"thy issue"

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@48:7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

@ 8And Israel beheld Josephfs sons, and said, Who are these?

@~Israel- Jacob -- had bad eye site, he could tell some one was there but didn't know who.

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@9And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he (Jacob) said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

@10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he (Joseph) brought them near unto him; and he (Jacob) kissed them, and embraced them.

@~Evidently he held them close to himself, he embraced them.

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@ 11And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. -- Remember Jacob thought Joseph was dead.

@12And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, (Jacob's knees) and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

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@13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israelfs left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israelfs right hand, and brought them near unto him.

@~ In other words, Joseph using his right hand took a hold of Ephraim his younger son and led him to Jacob, this means that Ephraim would be on Jacob's left.

@~ Joseph took a hold of Manasseh his elder son with his heft hand and led him to Jacob, this means that Manasseh would be on Jacobs right.

@~ The one being blest on the right was the one that would receive the greater blessing. --- The elder son usually received the greater blessing; but it seems that God from the beginning has preferred the younger to the elder, as Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau, and others.

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@14And Israel stretched out his right hand, (notice, Jacob had to cross his hands) and laid it upon Ephraimfs head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manassehfs head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

@~Jacob purposefully placed his hands in this order.

@~ Ephraim is to become the leader above Manasseh. Later the tribe of Manasseh marched under the banner of the tribe of Ephraim.

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@15And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

@ ~ Here Jacob realizes that he is nearing the end of life's journey, he reflects on his life and sees his life to be a series of mercies from God, and that God has fed him all his life long; he fully understands that God has been merciful and kind to him.

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@16The Angel which "redeemed" me (this is the 1st mention of a "go'el" in the bible - "go'el" means redeemer- deliverer- a near-kinsman redeemer- also was the blood avenger of a wrong done) from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. (notice, earthly blessings)

@ ~ "ANGEL" here has a capitol "A" - a reference to the Lord Jesus appearing in the O.T. -- This is called a Christophany.

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@17And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his fatherfs hand, to remove it from Ephraimfs head unto Manassehfs head.

@18And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

@~Even though Jacob couldnft see too well, he could tell what Joseph was doing.

@Joseph was pushing the older son to the position of Jacobfs right hand and the younger son toward the left hand. --- So he just switched hands. -- He crossed his hands and put his right hand on the younger son.

@~ Joseph would do well to remember that he was not the elder among his brethren either, in fact he is next to the youngest, Benjamin his brother. - Joseph and Benjamin were full brothers, their mother was Rachel.

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@19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

@ 20And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

@ ~Jacob blest Ephraim and Manasseh that day; he said that in the future the people of Israel would ask Godfs blessings on one another by saying, gI pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.h

@ ~Jacob put Ephraimfs name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh.

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@21And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

@~ Remember, "you-ye-and your" is always plural, here he says "YOU" all of Israel.

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@ 22Moreover 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.

@~ This was a personal gift made by Jacob to Joseph; it was a ridge near Sychar where Joseph would be buried. -- It was a parcel of land which Jacob first bought from the Amorite, and then later the Amorites retook it by force.

@~ Later Jacob by force reclaimed it; we read here "which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow."

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@~ This is the place where Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman at the well.

@ > John 4:5 5Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6Now Jacobfs well was there.

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@ ~ Abraham lived until he was 175 and Isaac was 180 years old when he died, and Jacob or Israel was 147 when he died. -- Joseph was 110 when he died.

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@Genesis 25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abrahamfs life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 175

@ Genesis 35:28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. 180

@ Genesis 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. 147

@ Genesis 50: 26So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. 110

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