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Jacob’s deathbed prophecies are recorded in Genesis 48-49. The Jews believed deathbed blessings had special powers. These prophecies were prophetic in their own way but didn’t change the future. First Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons, after which he blessed his own sons.
The applications of the story of Jacob’s deathbed prophecies are:
- Nothing that happens to us is surprising to God. He gives us choices but knows what we will choose.
- Many prophecies are dependent on our choices.
- It might be easy for us to be fatalistic about God knowing the future, as if nothing we do will change the future, but our lives are affected by our choices. It is just that God stands outside of time and knows all that was and is and will be.
- Things we do affect our children and others, but that doesn’t mean our future is determined by our parents’ past.
- There is redemption for past failures. Redemption follows true repentance, which includes change.
- We should never trade liberty for comfort.
Our choices and lives matter. We should live thoughtfully and wisely.