Genesis 47:7 – JACOB BLESSED PHARAOH
Genesis 47:7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
Jacob understood the importance of a blessing. Jacob stole his brother’s blessing when he deceived his father by pretending he was Esau. The night before he saw Esau again after 20 years of living with Laban, Jacob wrestled all night with a man and he refused to let go until this man blessed him. This time, Jacob is no longer asking for the blessing but instead is giving the blessing to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh has just given Jacob and his family the land of Goshen. Jacob came before Pharaoh and he reaches out to Pharaoh and shows his appreciation by pronouncing a blessing. Scripture does not reveal to us the exact words of the blessing, but scripture tells us twice in this chapter that Jacob came and blessed Pharaoh.
We have all heard the saying that it is better to give then to receive. When Jacob was pursuing his own agenda, he was out to receive gifts from others. Now that Jacob was Israel, he was looking for opportunities to give blessings to other.
There will be times in your life where you really need spiritual food. However, there will also be times where God is going to bring people into your life so that you can disciple them. You need to be looking for opportunities that you can be a blessing to others. You need to listen to God so as to be able to hear the words that you need to speak to others so as to encourage them and to cause them to draw closer to God.
When you were a child, Christmas was a time where you received a lot of presents. Maybe you gave a present or two, but you were more interested in your next gift rather than seeing the joy others received in opening your present. As you grew older, purchasing the perfect gift for someone became more enjoyable and your main anticipation was waiting to see the reaction of your love one when they opened your gift to them.
Spiritually, we need to mature. No longer should our focus be upon what we can receive from others. For three years, the disciples followed Jesus around. Once Jesus ascended up into heaven, Christ had commanded these disciples to go and teach. The disciples no longer could rely upon Jesus being right beside them; the disciples had to spiritually mature and they had to be the ones feeding the spiritual needs of others rather than being fed themselves.
When you go to church, your focus should not be based upon what you are receiving. Instead, your focus should be upon how you can help met the needs of others. All around you are people who need encouragement to hear your testimony so that they can realize the presence of God.
As long as you are seeking your own, you will not be in a position that you can bless others. By adding temperance to your life, you can change your focus upon your own needs to the needs of others. Rather than focusing upon what you can receive, you need to be focused upon what God desires you to do so as to help those around you.
Jacob was a changed man. He had lived a full life and now he no longer was concerned about what more he could receive in his lifetime. God had shown him a lot and it was now important for him to reach out and touch others so that they might learn about the One True God.