Devotions

Jacob the aged patriarch testified to Pharaoh upon his arrival in Egypt that his life had been one of trial and testing. Nevertheless the closing years were spent in peace and contentment. Joseph, his favourite son, was indeed alive. Through him the entire family and all their dependants were fed and protected. Near the end of his life, Jacob sent for Joseph and gave to him and to his two sons a blessing from on high. The manner of presentation and the content of the words magnify the glories of the triune God.

Without question, the doctrine of the trinity is mysterious and in many ways unsearchable. C. H. Spurgeon declared that anyone who tried to explain this doctrine was foolish. It is a revelation to be declared. The unity of the godhead, of which Jacob’s blessing is a vivid illustration, appears again and again in Holy Writ. He glories in the One before whom he and his ancestors had walked, the blessed Father, first person of the godhead. Paul speaks with reverence of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The aged patriarch extols “the God which fed me all my life long unto this day.” Herein we have the practical work of the executive of the godhead, the gracious Holy Spirit, the One who bestows upon us the temporal and spiritual blessings purchased for us through the third person mentioned in this benediction, “the Angel which redeemed me.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is the divine Angel of the Covenant. How significant that this glorious One is linked to the work of redemption. While we rejoice in the unity of the one God, in the trinity of His sacred persons, our hearts are especially drawn to One who became flesh for us and as the perfect Servant wrought eternal salvation for us. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18).