Faith to bless and faith to worship
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff (Hebrews 11:21).
The faith to bless is mentioned concerning both Isaac and Jacob in verses 20 and 21. This is a beautiful aspect of the power of faith. It is one thing to be blessed and another to be a blessing. Jacob, as a young man, wanted to be blessed. He tricked his older brother out of his birthright and was encouraged by his mother to deceive Isaac into blessing him above Esau. As a result, he had to flee from his home in fear of Esau. That night, as he slept at Bethel, God appeared to him in a remarkable dream and promised to be with Jacob and bring him safely home. Jacob spent the next twenty difficult years in the house of Laban before making the return journey. The night before he met Esau, he again found himself alone with God at Penuel. And he wrestled with the Angel of God, eventually pleading with God to bless him. God gave him a new name, Israel, and blessed him. Jacob had the faith to ask God to bless him, and for the rest of his life he became a blessing to others. He blessed Esau; he blessed Pharaoh; he blessed his sons; and he blessed his grandchildren. His life was transformed from selfishness to selflessness.
God blesses us and He wants to make us a blessing to others. I once found myself in the middle of the Sea of Galilee in a boat with a group of Roman Catholics who had kindly let me share their trip. Before we returned to shore, the priest spoke about the River Jordan. He explained that the river flowed into the Sea of Galilee and finally down to the Dead Sea. He compared the Sea of Galilee and its fertile surroundings to being blessed and allowing that blessing to flow out. But, he said, the flowing of the Jordan stopped at the Dead Sea. Then he asked us a simple question, “What kind of Christians are we? Does blessing flow from us or simply stop with us?” I have never forgotten his short word of ministry. God blesses us through faith, and we need faith to be a blessing to others. Think of the experiences we have of God’s goodness. Think about how we have the opportunity to pass on the blessing of God to others by sharing the Gospel, and through words and actions of kindness, sympathy and care.
Jacob had faith to bless others and faith to worship (v. 21). We are not only called to bless our fellow believers and neighbours, but we are called to be worshippers. Jesus explained to the woman at Sychar’s well in John 4 that the Father is seeking worshippers (v. 23). We might have thought of Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Isaac as great worshippers – and, of course, they were. But God chooses Jacob, the transformed man, who could speak of God as the “God who shepherded me all the days of my life” (Genesis 48:15), as a worshipper. Jacob who, as a young man, so misunderstood the character of God, in later years had such a profound understanding of His grace. After the experience at Peniel (“the face of God”), Jacob limped. This was a constant reminder of the day he met God, and God blessing him. He became the man who built altars to worship God and who ended his days as a worshipper. True men and woman of faith are true worshippers. If we do not make time to worship God, we can never truly serve Him. Serving God is, of course, so important, but it begins with us coming into His presence in faith to worship Him.
