Back in the late sixties, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young came out with a favorite song called, “Teach Your Children Well.” It was addressed to the freewheeling generation, which had tried to cast off all the rules of their parents’ generation. While the song reflected noble intentions, I always thought that there was a great deal of irony in it, that this rebellious generation would somehow succeed in teaching their children where their parents had failed.
I’m afraid some succeeded in teaching our kids all too well. We showed them that lifelong commitment to marriage is outdated. We showed them to cast off the roles of a husband as provider and wife as mother and homemaker. We showed them to do whatever feels good, whether sex, drugs, drinking or any other impulse. And, we taught them to feel good about themselves while they walked out on their marriages and coped with all their various addictions!
Even though some of our generations largely failed, the theme of that song is still valid, that we must teach our children well. It is primarily in the family that a godly heritage is handed down from generation to generation. God chose Abraham and promised to give him a family and from that family to make a nation to bless other nations of people. Abraham’s family was the foundation of Israel, from which the Savior came.
In Genesis 48, we see Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, handing his heritage in God to his son, Joseph, and his grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim. He adopts Joseph’s two sons as his own, blessing Joseph through them. One reason this chapter is here is to explain why Joseph isn’t listed as one of the tribes in Israel. He got a double inheritance through his two sons who were adopted by Jacob.
Out of all the events recorded in Jacob’s long life, the author of Hebrews selects this event as an example of Jacob’s faith: “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” (Heb. 11:21). Jacob had not yet received the fulfillment of God’s promises. But he blessed these two young men, believing that God would keep His word through them. In that act of faith, we see Jacob imparting to his son and grandsons the most important thing he could have given them; namely, faith in the promises of God. From this chapter, we learn that the most important thing we can give to our children and grandchildren is not a college education or a large inheritance. The most important thing we can give our children and grandchildren is a godly heritage.
- We give a godly heritage by taking spiritual concern not only for our children but also for our grandchildren.
Jacob speaks encouraging words to these two grandsons. He draws them near to himself, kisses and embraces them. Though there is no mention of the look on his face, you don’t have to read between the lines of Gen 48:11 to see the radiance on his face as his dim eyes look with joy on these young men. Then he lays his hands on them as he blesses them. Through his words, his expression, and his affectionate touch, Jacob made these grandsons feel loved. They later gave up their Egyptian culture and royal upbringing and identified themselves with this despised band of shepherds who were waiting for the promises of God. So take a deep spiritual concern, not only for your children, but also for your grandchildren, and wrap it in a love that they feel.
- We give a godly heritage by recounting to our children and grandchildren our own experiences with God.
Jacob went through his ups and downs, but through it all, he had walked with God. When Joseph came to see him on his death bed, Jacob recalled how God had appeared to him at Luz (Bethel) and the promises God had made to him there. When he saw Joseph’s two sons, Jacob expressed his gratitude that God had allowed him to see not only Joseph but also his children. Then, in blessing his grandsons, Jacob recounted God’s faithfulness and goodness again. Even in his unexpected crossing of his hands, so that the blessing of the firstborn went to Ephraim instead of Manasseh, Jacob was recounting his own experience of God’s grace.
- We give a godly heritage by picturing to our children and grandchildren our hopes for their future in the Lord.
Jacob paints a picture of Joseph’s future in the Lord. He says, “I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers. And I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow” (48:21-22). It would have been so easy to say, “Son, I’m proud of your success in Egypt. You’re a chip off the old block,” and leave it at that. But Jacob helped Joseph to see what God wanted for his future, namely, to return to the Promised Land.
The point is, Jacob pictured a great future in the Lord for his children and grandchildren, a future that involved the fulfillment of God’s promises. As God’s people in our day, we need to picture for our children the great purpose of completing the task of world evangelization before the Lord’s coming. We do not bless our children if we encourage them to worldly success instead of success with God. By our example, through stories we read to them, through the values we live and teach, we need to give our children a vision for the coming kingdom that God has promised for those who love Him.
