The Conqueror's Inheritance Text: Genesis 48:21-22
Introduction: A Deathbed Prophecy
We come now to the final words of Jacob to his favored son, Joseph. We are at the end of a long and tumultuous life, a life marked by wrestling, deceit, sorrow, and yet, through it all, the unrelenting faithfulness of God. Jacob is on his deathbed, his eyes are dim, but his spiritual vision has never been sharper. He is not just settling his estate; he is prophesying. He is speaking words that will echo down through the centuries, words that find their ultimate fulfillment in a greater Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Deathbed scenes in Scripture are weighty. They are moments of profound clarity, where the vanities of this life are stripped away and the patriarch, standing on the threshold of eternity, speaks with divine authority about the future. What a man says when he has nothing left to gain or lose in this world is worth listening to. And what Jacob says here is a potent mixture of promise and conquest. It is a declaration of God's faithfulness and a grant of a warrior's inheritance.
Our modern sensibilities are often allergic to this kind of talk. We like our religion domesticated and peaceful. We want promises of comfort, but we are squeamish about talk of swords and bows. But the Bible is a book about a holy war. It is the story of God reclaiming what is His from the hand of a usurper. From Genesis 3 onward, the story of redemption is a story of conflict. And here, at the bedside of the dying patriarch, we are reminded that the inheritance of God's people is not something that will simply fall into our laps. It must be taken. It is a gift, yes, but it is a gift that must be seized by faith, which is a fighting grace.
These two verses encapsulate the Christian life. We live between the promise of God's presence and the reality of spiritual warfare. We are assured that God will be with us, and we are commanded to take up our sword and bow. Jacob's final words to Joseph are, therefore, our marching orders as well.
The Text
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will 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.”
(Genesis 48:21-22 LSB)
The Unfailing Presence (v. 21)
We begin with the foundational promise that undergirds everything else.
"Then Israel said to Joseph, 'Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.'" (Genesis 48:21)
Jacob begins with the stark reality of his own mortality. "Behold, I am about to die." The patriarchs did not view death as a medical failure, but as a divine appointment. It is the way of all the earth. But notice the immediate pivot. The sentence does not end with his death. It turns on that glorious, defiant conjunction: "but." "I am dying, BUT God will be with you."
This is the heart of covenant succession. The promises of God do not die with the patriarchs. The faithfulness of God is not buried in their graves. My life is a vapor, but God's covenant is eternal. My presence is fleeting, but God's presence is perpetual. This is the great comfort of the saints in every generation. Leaders will fail us, fathers will die, institutions will crumble, but the living God remains. His presence with His people is the one constant in a world of flux.
And what is the result of this divine presence? "He will bring you back to the land of your fathers." At this point, Joseph is the prime minister of Egypt, the most powerful man in the known world. His sons were born and raised as Egyptian nobles. From a worldly perspective, returning to the dusty patch of Canaan would be a massive step down. But Jacob is not thinking in worldly terms. He is thinking in covenantal terms. The land was the promise. It was the down payment on a much larger inheritance. It was the stage upon which God's redemptive drama would unfold.
This promise looks forward to the Exodus, of course. But it looks beyond that. The "land of your fathers" is not just a geographical location; it is a type of the true inheritance of the saints. It is a picture of the renewed creation, the whole earth, which Christ has secured for His people. As Paul says, the promise to Abraham was that he would be the heir of the world (Romans 4:13). The physical land of Canaan was simply the earnest money, the first installment of a global inheritance. Jacob is telling Joseph, "Don't get comfortable in Egypt. This world is not your home. God is with you to bring you into your true inheritance." This is a word for us. Do not set your heart on the Egypt of this fading age. God is with us to bring us into a better country, a heavenly one.
The Warrior's Portion (v. 22)
Having established the promise, Jacob now bestows the inheritance. And it is a peculiar one.
"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." (Genesis 48:22 LSB)
First, Joseph receives a double portion. By adopting Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob has already elevated Joseph's house to the status of two tribes, securing him the rights of the firstborn. But here he adds something more, a specific piece of land. The word for "portion" here is Shechem, which sounds like the Hebrew word for "shoulder." He gives him the shoulder of land, the ridge of land, that he conquered.
But when did Jacob conquer a piece of land from the Amorites with his sword and bow? The only military action connected to Jacob's family and the city of Shechem was the treacherous and bloody vengeance of Simeon and Levi (Genesis 34). But Jacob explicitly condemned that act. It seems unlikely he would now boast of it. It is more probable that this refers to a conflict not recorded in detail, where Jacob had to defend the land he had purchased near Shechem (Genesis 33:19) from Amorite aggression. The land was his by purchase, but he had to secure it by conquest.
This is a crucial principle. Our inheritance is given by God, but it must be taken by force. This is not a contradiction. God gives the victory, but He calls us to fight the battle. The land of Canaan was a gift to Israel, but they had to drive out the inhabitants. The Christian life is a gift of grace, but we are told to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). Peace with God, through the work of Christ, immediately launches us into war with the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The sword and the bow are symbols of this spiritual warfare. Our sword is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Our bow is the projection of that Word in prayer, proclamation, and obedience. We do not fight with carnal weapons, but with divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Jacob is bestowing upon Joseph not just a piece of real estate, but a legacy of faithful conquest. He is saying that the best part of the inheritance is the part you have to fight for.
This portion, Shechem, becomes a significant place. It is where Joseph's bones were eventually buried (Joshua 24:32), a testament to his faith in this very promise. It is where Jesus, the greater Joseph, met the woman at the well, offering her living water from Jacob's well (John 4). The inheritance won by the sword and bow of the patriarch ultimately becomes the place where the Prince of Peace offers eternal life.
Christ, Our Joseph, and Our Inheritance
As with all these patriarchal narratives, the light of the gospel shines through. Joseph is a remarkable type of Christ. He was the beloved son, sent by the father, rejected and sold by his brothers, who then suffered unjustly. Yet through his suffering, he was exalted to the right hand of power and became the savior of the very people who rejected him, providing bread for them in a time of famine. He is a picture of the Suffering Servant who becomes the Conquering King.
And it is this greater Joseph, Jesus Christ, who receives the ultimate inheritance. He is the one to whom God the Father says, "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession" (Psalm 2:8). And how did He take this inheritance? With His own "sword and bow."
His sword was not forged of steel, but of suffering. His bow was not made of wood, but of obedience. On the cross, Christ waged war against sin, death, and the devil. He took the fight to the heart of the enemy's territory. With the sword of His righteous life and the bow of His sacrificial death, He conquered the "Amorites" who held us captive. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him (Colossians 2:15).
Because of His conquest, He now gives us a portion, an inheritance. We are made co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). And our inheritance, like Joseph's, is a conquered territory. The promise is secure: "God will be with you." The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate guarantee of that promise. But the possession of that inheritance requires a fight. We are called to take up our cross, to put to death the deeds of the flesh, to stand against the schemes of the devil, and to advance the crown rights of King Jesus in every area of life.
The portion Jacob gave Joseph was the part he fought for. The blessings we cherish most are not the ones that come easily, but the ones forged in the furnace of trial and conflict. The ground we gain for the kingdom is ground taken with the sword of the Spirit and the bow of faithful prayer. Jacob's dying words are a charge to us. Do not be content with the comforts of Egypt. Remember the promise. God is with you. Now take up your sword and your bow, and go possess the land.