“The Strength that does not fail”

I’ve been reading about the life of Joseph lately. It’s always been one of my favorite accounts in Scripture, as it’s such an amazing example of God’s faithfulness over long periods of time during which circumstances often suggest He is not faithful. 

Just recently, Genesis 49:23-24 jumped out at me. In this chapter, Jacob has called his sons around him and is blessing them one by one. When he gets to Joseph, this is part of what he says: “The archers have bitterly grieved him [Joseph], shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel).” (NJKV)

The Amplified translation of the beginning of verse 24 is what really struck me: “But his bow remained strong and steady and rested in the Strength that does not fail him.” 

The Strength that does not fail him. 

The word translated “strength” here is eythan, and it’s from a root word meaning “to continue.” It’s used in Scripture to mean perpetual, constant, perennial, ever-flowing, enduring, permanent. 

This idea of “flowing” brings to mind John 7:38, where Jesus says, “He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.” (Amplified) 

Joseph did not persist in strength because of his own gifts or talents. His bow—his weapon used for battle—was steady because it was upheld by the Strength that does not fail. 

Whatever trial we are in the midst of, we can rest in the arms of the One Who upholds us, Whose strength is everlasting. 

Psalm 146:5: “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”