Genesis 48:16

Here is the whole verse: "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys." The angel was the God of his fathers. Are you unaware that the word "angel" covers all those appearances of God on behalf of His ancient people? Do you not know that Stephen says Moses was with the angel in the bush, who said, "I am who I am"? Do you not know that Hosea says Jacob wrestled with the angel and prevailed? Yet Jacob called the place Peniel, because he had seen God face to face.

When Jacob speaks of "the Angel, the Redeemer" (literal translation) he speaks of Jehovah who appeared to him, whom he met face to face at Peniel.

Redemption for Jacob clearly meant his deliverance from all the dangers and troubles of his winding path. Christians too can count on the strong arm of the Lord. He brings them safely through all the ups and downs of the wilderness God has called them to cross.

His complaint was, "All these things are against me." And so it indeed appeared. He had yet to learn that all these things were part of God's plan for his ultimate good. That is why, at the end of his life, he could speak of "the angel who has redeemed me from all evil" (Genesis 48:16). The fact was that "all these things" were going to "work together for good," and so give us an effective illustration of the truth of Romans 8:28.

It is true he received the promise, but his experiences were very different from Abraham's. Although at the end of his life he could say, "the angel who has redeemed me from all evil" (Genesis 48:16), he still had to add, "Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life." The variety of his experience is a proof of unfaithfulness.

The understanding of faith looks over the past and recognises God's presence in keeping and leading. "The God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil." This is faith's answer to the promise given at the outset of his course: "I will never leave you." Guided now by God, he blesses Ephraim and Manasseh, putting the younger first. Flesh put Esau first; faith put Ephraim.

As a worshipper in God's presence he learns the mind of God. He no longer acts as nature would dictate, but as God would direct... He speaks of God according to his experience of God. It is the God who shepherded him all the days of his life — the Angel who had redeemed him from all evil — into whose hands he commends the lads. His spiritual vision was never brighter than at the moment when his natural vision had grown dim with age.

He has claimed them as his own sons, and his request matches that. He asks that his name would rest on them, and the names of Abraham and Isaac. This stresses the continuity of God's blessing on that family. Also, he says, "let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." This is clearly earthly blessing, having nothing to do with heaven.