In the previous message we covered the first eight aspects of the universal blessing. In his blessing of Joseph, Jacob used many poetic expressions, such as ancient mountains, eternal hills, and the utmost bound of the eternal hills. These particular expressions indicate time and space, all time from the ancient times to eternity and all space from heaven to under the earth. Hence, these poetic expressions refer to the universal blessing, for time plus space equals the universe. We have a blessing that fills the entire universe. Throughout time and space, we are under this blessing. God's blessing fills the universe, from eternity past to eternity future and from the heavens above to the depths underneath the earth. Everywhere and at every time there is nothing but blessing. Oh, we all must see this vision and have this realization! There is no need to wait for the coming of the new heaven and the new earth, for in the church life today we are in the foretaste of this universal blessing.
Although the first eight items of the blessing bestowed upon Joseph are universal, they are rather common. If you examine them, you will see that nothing of life is involved; neither is there anything of dwelling. Hence, we need to consider the last two items, one of which involves life and the other, dwelling. Remember, the record in Genesis 49 is poetic and poetry often uses symbols. One picture or symbol can take the place of a thousand words. Under the inspiration of God, in 49:25 Jacob spoke of "blessings of the breasts, and of the womb." In this poetic utterance, the womb signifies the producing of life, the begetting of life, and the breasts signify the nourishment of life. In His creation, God only blessed the living creatures and man (1:22, 28). He did not bless His work accomplished on the first four days. He did not bless the sun, the moon, the stars, or the vegetation on the earth. But on the fifth day God blessed the living creatures in the waters and the fowl in the air, and on the sixth day He blessed man. Thus, among all the works of His creation, God blessed only the living creatures and man. This impresses us with the fact that God is for life. God's intention is to have the producing life. The fact that Joseph was blessed with the blessings of the womb and of the breasts indicates that he was blessed with the begetting and nourishing life. These figures should not be applied to the animal life, nor even to the human life, but to the eternal life. The eternal life is the highest life, the most productive life. In the New Testament we see that the producing life is not the animal life nor the human life, but the eternal life. Today we in the church are experiencing the eternal life as the producing life. The many items of blessing in the church include the breasts and the womb, the producing and nourishing life.
Look at the picture given in Revelation 21 and 22. In these chapters we have the new heaven, the new earth, and the New Jerusalem. In the New Jerusalem there is the river of water of life. In this river of life grows the tree of life. In the entire new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem, the central item is the flowing life. No doubt, all the other aspects of the universal blessing are present, such as the blessing of the heavens, the blessing of the dew, the blessing of the earth, and the blessing of the things beneath the earth. But Revelation 21 and 22 do not mention the other things. These chapters mention only the flowing of life with the tree of life, something that provides nourishment. If you simply read Genesis 49 according to the black and white, you will not see the matter of the producing and nourishing life. You must get into the spiritual significance of the poetic expressions used in this chapter. Hallelujah, in the church life we have the blessing of life, the blessing of the breasts and of the womb, the blessing of the flowing river!
If we have every blessing except the blessing of the breasts and of the womb, this signifies that we are without the producing and nourishing life. If that is the case, we are a poor church. If the producing animals and human beings were taken away from the earth, the whole meaning of the universe would be lost. The meaning of the entire universe depends upon the animal life and especially upon the human life. Suppose in Southern California there were grass, flowers, and trees, but no animals or human beings. When the angels saw such a situation, they would say that it was full of blessing, yet short of life. But the angels are happy to see so many living creatures on earth. In the church life we enjoy the womb and the breasts, the producing and the nourishing. In the church life today we certainly have a flowing life. In the New Jerusalem, we shall have it even more.