Devotional 25 July 2025

The faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph wasn’t expressed in miracles or grand deliverances, it was expressed in how they prepared the next generation. These patriarchs believed God’s promises not only for their own lifetimes, but beyond them. And so they passed on their faith through blessings, worship, and even burial instructions. They believed God’s covenant was sure, even when its fulfillment was still far off.

Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau “regarding things to come” (Genesis 27), trusting in a future he would not live to see. Jacob, at the end of his life, worshiped while leaning on his staff and passed the covenant blessing on to Joseph’s sons (Genesis 48:15–16). Joseph, a prince in Egypt, spoke not of palaces or power, but of God’s promise to bring His people home. He gave instructions about his bones because he wanted to rest in the land of promise (Genesis 50:24–25). Each man, by faith, looked beyond his present comfort and spoke into a future shaped by God’s Word.

Their lives bear witness to a faith that plants trees it will never sit under.

This is the kind of faith the Church needs today: a faith that sees beyond itself, a faith that blesses the generations to come. Proverbs says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). And Scripture is clear that our greatest inheritance is not wealth, but a legacy of covenantal faithfulness. Paul praises Timothy’s “sincere faith” that first lived in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). That is what faithful witness looks like: it is generational, future-facing, and deeply rooted in God’s enduring promises.

Faith that dies blessing others is not weak, it is powerful. It’s a life that says with conviction, “God will keep His word, even when I am gone.”

Hebrews reminds us that these patriarchs “all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar” (Hebrews 11:13). They believed that God’s story didn’t end with them. So they sowed blessing, testimony, and hope into the future.

Let us hear their witness: to live boldly, trust deeply, and give generously—not only to those around us, but to those who come after. May we leave a spiritual inheritance in our families, our churches, and our communities. Let us bless others by faith, knowing that God’s promises endure long after our lives are over.

Plant seeds you may never see sprout, for the God who made the promise lives forever.

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, witnesses to a faith that sees beyond it’s own lifetime, still speak. May we have ears to hear.