Pastor’s Column 6/21/2026

PASTOR’S COLUMN

²¹   “ Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Caanan, the land of your ancestors..” ²² And beyond what I have given you brothers I am giving you an extra portion of  the land I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

Genesis 48;21-22, NLT

“Different Way But Still A Blessing!”

The great Biblical narrative which takes us to the bedside of Jacob the patriarch of the promise, is an emotional illustration of three generations who loved each other dearly. The story deserves our attention because these were descendants of a family heritage that expected blessings to fall along a prescribed path. It is one thing to expect blessings, but we can’t assume every blessing will come  as we anticipate. The plan of God in our affairs often can be different from our blueprint. Jacob was an aging patriarch who along with 70 members of his family (children and grandchildren) had left the land of Israel to settle in the Goshen region of Egypt. Joseph, second to the youngest son, had been enslaved in Egypt for 13 years, but God raised him up to become the second highest official under Pharoah’s dynasty.  Jacob, in an end-of-life stage, wanted to see and bless the two sons of Jacob - Ephraim and Manasseh, the two grandsons he had never seen. Jospeh took his sons to Goshen to visit their grandfather. Although Jacob now was blind, he has Joseph placed the boys close to him. Jospeh placed the boys in the order they were to be blessed, but Jacob switched their arms. He gave the younger boy the blessings Joseph thought was intended for the older. Jacob explained, each of the boys would be greatly blessed, and Joseph also would receive an additional portion” (blessing). We should all be thankful however God chooses to bless us! Every “portion” is the better and more that God adds to our lives.  The initial protest of Joseph against his father who disrupting the process of blessings, yielded to thanksgiving for the generosity and wisdom of his father. Our God gives more!