I am ready to demo PopPop's trailer. Well, actually I will be taking a lot of pictures. I might help demo a little...I am in charge of photo documentation LOL

Here I am all ready to go. Cowboy boots and all.....
I will share pictures later of the DESTRUCTION HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Genesis 49:1-33  And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days.  (2)  Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.  (3)  Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.  (4)  Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it - he went up to my couch.  (5)  Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence their kinship.  (6)  Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen.  (7)  Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.  (8)  Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.  (9)  Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?  (10)  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.  (11)  Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes;  (12)  His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.  (13)  Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his flank shall be upon Zidon.  (14)  Issachar is a large-boned ass, couching down between the sheep-folds.  (15)  For he saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task-work  (16)  Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.  (17)  Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider falleth backward.  (18)  I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord.  (19)  Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; but he shall troop upon their heel.  (20)  As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.  (21)  Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.  (22)  Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall.  (23)  The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him;  (24)  But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,  (25)  Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.  (26)  The blessings of thy father are mighty beyond the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren.  (27)  Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth the prey, and at even he divideth the spoil.'  (28)  All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.  (29)  And he charged them, and said unto them: 'I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,  (30)  in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.  (31)  There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.  (32)  The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.'  (33)  And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.

last days –the things Jacob will be speaking about speak of the future. Some things will refer to what will happen as they come into the Promised Land, some will refer even up to the time of the end.

unstable as water – pachaz – recklessness, like boiling or overflowing water. Water isn't so easy to control, it certainly doesn't control itself; it just boils over.

Jacob is referring to the fact that Reuben had committed adultery with one of Jacob's own wives (Gen. 35:22)

Sexual sin – this was Reuben's problem

The Bible clearly tells us that God designed sex to be enjoyed in the specific setting of marriage. God designed sex to function at it's best when it's in the atmosphere of a man and woman who are committed to each other for life.

Sex outside the boundaries of marriage is called "immorality". It's a broad word that can include things like adultery (when people are married, but having sex with someone outside the marriage), sex before marriage, homosexuality, and just about any other thing you don't want to be imagining.

1 Cor 6:18-20 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. {19} Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? {20} For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

How do I develop self-control?

1. The work of the Spirit
Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Self control is one aspect of the "fruit" that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in your life. The kind of self-control that God is looking for starts by yielding your life to the work of the Holy Spirit, letting Him do what He wants in your life.

2. Learn to be faithful in small things
Luke 16:10-12 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. {11} "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? {12} "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

Self-control is a key ingredient to "faithfulness". Even though we see self-control being a work of God's Spirit, it is also a result of what you choose to do.

Faithfulness starts with the "least". Learning to be faithful in the small things of life teaches you to be faithful in the bigger things in life.

It might be learning save your money instead of spend it. It might be learning to get up when the alarm goes off instead of sleeping too late. Start with the smaller things in life.

I find that when you grow in self-control in one area of your life, you affect the other areas of your life as well.

Simeon and Levi were involved in the slaughtering of the Shechemites. The reason for their actions was because Shechem, the son of Hamor raped their sister Dinah, even though he now wanted to marry her, they saw this as wrong and it was. But their plan was evil. They said they would allow it if all the men of Shechem were circumcised. They agreed to this and when they couldn't fight because of the pain of the circumcision, they slaughtered all the men of the city and plundered the city. It was a heinous act.

The tribe of Dan introduced idolatry into the land of Israel. Dan became the center of idol worship.

Jacob finishes his blessings upon his son's and then concludes by telling them not to bury him in the world, in Egypt.

Charles Spurgeon said this about Jacob; "He who had journeyed with unwearied foot fully many a mile was now obliged to gather up his feet into the bed to die. His life had been eventful in the highest degree, but the dread event now came upon him, which is common to us all. He had deceived his blind father in his youth, but no craftiness of Jacob could deceive the grave. He had fled from Esau, his angry brother, but a swifter and surer foot was now in pursuit, from which there was no escape. He had slept with a stone for his pillow and had seen heaven opened, but he was to find that it was only to be entered by the ordinary gate. He had wrestled with the angel at the brook Jabbok, and he had prevailed; at this time he was to wrestle with an angel against whom there was no prevalence. He had dwelt in Canaan in tents, in the midst of enemies, and the Lord had said, 'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm,' and therefore he had been secure in the midst of a thousand ills; but now he must fall by the hand of the last enemy and feel the great avenger's sword."

Genesis 48:1-22  And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: 'Behold, thy father is sick.' And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.  (2)  And one told Jacob, and said: 'Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee.' And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.  (3)  And Jacob said unto Joseph: 'God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,  (4)  and said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.  (5)  And now thy two sons, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.  (6)  And thy issue, that thou begettest after them, shall be thine; they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.  (7)  And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath - the same is Beth-lehem.'  (8)  And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?'  (9)  And Joseph said unto his father: 'They are my sons, whom God hath given me here.' And he said: 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.'  (10)  Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.  (11)  And Israel said unto Joseph: 'I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed also.'  (12)  And Joseph brought them out from between his knees; and he fell down on his face to the earth.  (13)  And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.  (14)  And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born.  (15)  And he blessed Joseph, and said: 'The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath been my shepherd all my life long unto this day,  (16)  the angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.'  (17)  And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.  (18)  And Joseph said unto his father: 'Not so, my father, for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.'  (19)  And his father refused, and said: 'I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.'  (20)  And he blessed them that day, saying: 'By thee shall Israel bless, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.' And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.  (21)  And Israel said unto Joseph: 'Behold, I die; but God will be with you, and bring you back unto the land of your fathers.  (22)  Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.'

Even though these two boys are his grandchildren. after this point, Ephraim and Manasseh are to be considered sons of Joseph, of the same status as Jacobs other sons like Reuben and Simeon.
This essentially gives Joseph a "double portion" when it comes time to split the inheritance because instead of him getting one share of Jacob's inheritance, his sons will each get a share.
When you see listings of the tribes of Israel, most lists will include Ephraim and Manasseh, but not Joseph.
Almost all lists of the tribes of Israel total up to twelve tribes.  In order to compensate, various tribes are opted out to make the list total twelve.
When the Promised Land is finally divided under Joshua, Ephraim and Manasseh each get a portion, and the tribe of Levi doesn't.

If Joseph has any more children besides Ephraim and Manasseh, they are counted in Joseph's inheritance, but Ephraim and Manasseh will inherit directly from Jacob.  We have no record of any other children born to Joseph.

Israel's father Isaac also had a problem with eyesight. When Isaac had come to the point where he wanted to pass on his spiritual "blessing" to his sons, he didn't see so well.  That allowed Jacob to deceive his father as he dressed up and disguised himself as his brother Esau. The special preferred blessing that Isaac thought he was giving to Esau really went to Jacob. The odd thing is that God had long before told Isaac and Rebekah that the younger son, Jacob, would be the blessed one. What Isaac intended didn't happen.  What God intended did happen.  Hmmm. What is about to happen is another of those "spiritual blessings" that's being passed on.  Instead of putting the blessing on Joseph, this blessing is going to skip a generation and rest on Joseph's sons.

Joseph thinks his dad is making a mistake, he is old, he can't see and thus, Joseph tries to help him out but Israel knew exactly what he was doing. He makes Ephraim receive the blessing of the firstborn as Jeremiah 31:9 tells us, "They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn."

We are often concerned about providing for our children financially. That's a good thing. We are concerned that our children get a good education. We want our children to succeed socially. These too are good things. But the most important thing we can pass on to our children is a spiritual heritage. Jacob will continue not only with these boys, but his entire family as he gathers his older sons together in the next chapter and pronounces a blessing on each of them. These "blessings" aren't some generic "one size fits all" blessing.  There is an almost prophetic sense to these blessings.  Each son got a specific, unique, tailor-made blessing.

Genesis 49:28 …And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

With Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob had the discernment to realize that the general rule of the older brother being greater wasn't going to apply. Jacob had seen in his own life that God broke those kinds of rules every once in a while. Jacob had learned in his life to find the correct blessing for each son. I see some of the blessings from Jacob being simply guidance from God.  Jacob is a man who has learned to depend on God.  Jacob has learned to hear from God. Some of Jacob's blessings seem based upon human observation.  Because he knows his sons, he knows how to bless them. I think those are the elements of what it takes to bless our children. We need to cultivate our relationship with God.  You need to know God.  You need to be cultivating the things in your life that will mature you – reading your Bible, praying, sharing your faith.

We need to know our children.  Spend time with them.  Learn more about them.

Shalom