Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday, October 7, 2016
The dispensation of promise manifested by the phrase "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" is about to be over.
The Hebrew says, "He bowed his head on the top of his staff."
The staff represents that which we lean on and therefore for doctrinal believers the staff represents the promises of God's word and the faith- rest life.
Even though Jacob was a rat most of his life, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, [and then not Joseph but
Joseph's two sons] Ephraim and Manasseh are mentioned.
The cross hand incident = Joseph tried to put Manasseh under Jacob's right hand because he was the first-born and he was to get all the blessing of the first-born.
The right hand is the hand of blessing and wealth while the left hand is, in effect, "go out and do the best you can."
He puts the right hand of Ephraim and the left hand on Manasseh.
For most of his life, Jacob was a carnal believer and for only 17 years, a small percentage of his saved life, was he a spiritual believer.
"God shepherded him" all of the time, carnal or spiritual, that's the faithfulness of the Lord Even though there are times that God will abandon His people, you heard me right, ultimately He does not and will not forever.
1CO 3:13-15, "Each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work."
1CO 3:14-15, If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.
All of the time that Jacob was a rat, a chiseler, a liar, a deceiver, a creep, a louse, a phony, a thief, a double-dealer, a cheat, and a con-artist, God was faithful to him, and He shepherded him.
1TH 2:18, Satan and his kingdom of darkness will hinder them, For we wanted to come to you‑‑ I, Paul, more than once‑‑ and yet Satan thwarted or hindered us.
LUK 14:18 "The have bought a piece of land and need to go out and look at it;
LUK 14:19 "They have bought five yoke of oxen, and they think they to go to try them out and see how they work;
LUK 14:20 "They have married a wife, and for that reason they cannot come."
MAT 6:19 -21 says "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
MAT 6:20-21, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
All of the time that Jacob was a rat, a chiseler, a liar, a deceiver, a creep, a louse, a phony, a thief, a double-dealer, a cheat, and a con-artist, God was faithful to him, and He shepherded him.
Not some of my life, that's legalism and typical of the sloppy thinking we have among believers today.
Prin-You cannot do anything to ever shake the faithfulness of God toward you.
God is faithful to us in rebound; 1Jo 1:9 "If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and righteous, with the result that He forgives us our sins [known sins] and cleanses us from all unrighteousness [unknown sins]."
God is also faithful to the apostate believer; 2Ti 2:13 "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself."
HEB 11:21 not by faith but By means of doctrine resident in the soul Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph [that is Ephraim and Manasseh], and [Jacob] worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
It was a wise switch because he knew that Ephraim was going to be the doctrinal man and Manasseh was going to be like Jacob when he was in apostasy.
God does not bless the line of natural birth.
God's blessing to the human race comes through regeneration, the new birth.....God does not bless through natural birth.
JOH 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,
JOH 1:13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
It's isn't what assets you are born with, it's what assets you use after you are born again.
Tradition said, "Bless the elder, doctrine said bless the younger."
It is the spiritual line that becomes the beneficiary of grace = the elder should serve the younger.
Seth over Cain Abraham over Haran Isaac over Ishmael Jacob over Esau Ephraim over Manasseh
For 17 years of great supergrace prosperity he lived in a placed called Goshen and then finally came time for
Jacob to die and that brings us to HEB 11:21
HEB 11:21 By means of doctrine resident in the soul Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
"worshipped" = the aor-act-ind of the verb proskuneo which is correctly translated worship.
Pros means face to face. Keneo means to kiss.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, (KJV)
It means worship in the sense of the communication of Bible doctrine.
The ultimate form of worship is the communication of Bible doctrine.
MAT 15:9 "But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men."
In ACT 18:13 Paul was accused of "persuading men to worship God contrary to the law."
Worship in the Old Testament had to do with the doctrine found in the Law and now the New Testament form of
worship is found in the mystery doctrine of the Church-age.
PSA 138:2 I will bow down toward Thy holy temple, And give thanks to Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth; For Thou hast magnified Thy word according to all Thy name.
Jacob leaned on the top of his staff while dying and preached a message in Gen 49.
HEB 11:21 By means of doctrine resident in the soul Jacob, while he was in the process of dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff or a cane or stick.
Prin-The highest form of worship is either teaching doctrine or receiving doctrine.
You do more worshipping by sitting and listening and concentration under the filling of the Spirit then you could ever do while doing anything else.
What a wonderful way to go, he taught a message and then dropped dead.
In Gen 49 - it is covered by one word in the Greek in HEB 11:21, the word worship.
HEB 11:21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
The first three mentioned are the sons of Leah.
Reuben's failure was instability.
You can have all the great qualities in the world but if you have instability with them they are all neutralized.
Reuben seduced Bilhar one of Jacob's mistresses or one of his wives.
1Co 5 = the audacity and the lack of respect so much for his father that when he was given the opportunity he took advantage of his father and his father's wife.
EPH 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.
Reuben, the first-born lost the double portion as the heir, he lost the family rulership and he lost the inheritance he could have had because Jacob instead left the inheritance to another.
Reuben lost the priesthood! He lost the double portion to Joseph. He lost the rulership to his brother Judah.
He lost the priesthood to his brother Levi.
His tribe, the tribe of Reuben will also be under a curse and that's why we have such individuals as Dathan and Abiram who were from the tribe of Reuben....who were killed by TLJC and died the sin unto death.
The sons of Reuben also failed to cross the Jordan and failed to fight in emergency and had no patriotism to Israel.
Prin-Instability neutralizes human ability and divine operating assets.
In verses 5-7, we have the two very close brothers, Simeon and Levi.
They were very cruel individuals.
PRO 12:10 A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, But the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
Simeon became the weakest tribe, Num 26:14.
Simeon received only a couple of cities in Judah, Jos 19:1-9.
Levi was likewise scattered in the land but Levi recovered.
Prin-Simeon and Levi were deprived of their inheritance but not of their salvation.
All of Jacob's sons ended up in reversionism and the majority of them did not succeed in living the spiritual life but God still honored His title that He was and is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.