Genesis 48:8-11 (ESV Strong's)
8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.”
The Unexpected Blessings of God
God, in His sovereign grace, gives us things we often don’t expect and never deserve. Israel (Jacob) was blessed by God. When Joseph was “declared” dead via the lies of his brothers, Israel naturally only had memories of the boy. He did not expect to find out years and years later that Joseph was alive. In many respects, Joesph is a type of Christ, in that he came back from the dead. Not literally, but figuratively, in the eyes of Israel. This is what Israel is expressing in the above passage. God, in His grace, gives us blessings. Israel’s physical eye-sight is diminished, but his spiritual vision is 20/20. He can see that God is blessing him, beyond measure. That is the vision we all are to look for each day. We can easily look at the fears of the world and cringe with terror. But, those with spiritual eyes, look for the blessings we get from God. It would be expected that Israel even stopped praying and asking God for a blessing like this. He thought Joseph was dead, so why pray. Those type of blessings that God gives to us are spectacular. We aren’t asking Him, we are not praying to Him and pleading with Him. We just receive blessings from Him.
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