The Book of Genesis is a book of life, but it is also a book of death. In some ways, the Book of Genesis is a graveyard. It tells us how death started. From the mutilated body of Abel, to the unbroken litany of death in Chapter 5, to the destruction of the world in Chapter 6, the Book of Genesis is a book of death. Every one of the heroes introduced in the book, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph also died in its pages. It is a book of death.
Genesis, chapters 48 and 49 chronicle the death of the great patriarch Jacob. He lived for 147 years on this earth, but eventually the hour of his death came. For most of us, we don't like to talk about death. It's a subject that we do our best to avoid. Still, death is stalking each of us, and one day, we will leave this world (Hebrews 9:27).
What we learn as we watch Jacob finish his life can help us as the day of our own death approaches. What we learn here can help us live life knowing that death is coming. This week, I'd like to talk about the reflections of a life. I want you to see that Jacob reflected on the past; he reflected on providence; he reflected on the present; and he reflected on the promises. Let’s examine these four areas that held the mind of Jacob as he died.
First, Jacob reflected on the past. As Jacob approached his date with death, the past was on his mind. He remembered three high places that stood out on the landscape of his past.
a) In Genesis 48:3-4, he remembered a spot. Jacob remembered a night when he met God, he remembered an encounter at a place called Bethel, (Genesis 28). Jacob remembered what happened that night. He remembered the covenant the Lord made with him. He remembered the promises God gave to him. Even as he was dying, Jacob remembered the place and the time when he met God.
b) In Genesis 48:7, he remembered a spouse. Jacob remembered the greatest love and the greatest heartbreak of his life. He thought of his beloved wife Rachel. He remembered how he felt when he saw her. He remembered their love. He remembered how he had to work fourteen years just to have her as his wife. He remembered all the happy years they shared together.
He also remembered how she died. He remembered the love, and he remembered the loss. Jacob saw his Rachel as the high point of his earthly existence. She has been dead for two decades, but Jacob has never forgotten her! As he looked at Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim standing before him, he was reminded of his Rachel and of her legacy.
c) In Genesis 48:16, he remembered a spirit. As Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons, he remembers a an Angel. He remembers a divine encounter with God that forever changed his life (Genesis 32). Jacob wrestled with the Lord one night and when the sun rose on the new day, he walked different for the rest of his life. He remembers the day that Jacob became Israel. Jacob was He remembers the amazing, life-changing work of God His life.
Secondly, Jacob reflected on providence. As Jacob was dying, he looked back over the years of his life and remembered the times when God blessed him along the way. Let’s see what he remembered. I am sure a lot of it will dovetail with our own experience.
a) In Genesis 48:3, 11, 21, he remembered God’s providence. Jacob remembered the times God moved in his life to accomplish His will and to lead Jacob in the right path.
b) In Genesis 48:15, he remembered God’s provisions. He spoke of the God “which fed me all my life long unto this day.” Jacob remembers the past, and as he does, he remembers the provisions of the Lord. He remembers the God Who always came through for him
c) In Genesis 48:2, he remembered God’s power. Do you see the transition in verse 2? At the beginning of the verse he is called “Jacob”. At the end of the verse, he is called “Israel”. “Jacob” means “Trickster, supplanter, heel grabber”. Israel means “Prince with God.” As he lays dying, Jacob takes time to remember the God Who changed his life. He remembers the awesome power of God working in him and through him, changing him from what he was to what the Lord wanted him to become.
Third, Jacob reflected on the present. As Jacob was dying he knew that all his blessings were not in the past. The Lord had placed some things right in from of him that reminded him of God’s blessings today. He has placed...
a) In Genesis 48:8-11, the evidence of grace. Here, Jacob embraces the two sons of Joseph. There was a time when he thought Joseph was dead and that there would be no offspring from that son. Now, by the grace of God, Jacob not only sees Joseph again, but he also sees Joseph’s two boys. That is grace in action.
b) In Genesis 48:5-6, the expansion of grace. Jacob adopts the two sons of Joseph and gives them an inheritance among Joseph’s brothers. He is, in effect, giving Joseph the double portion of the firstborn. When the inheritance of the nation of Israel was given our many years later, there was no tribe of Joseph, but there were the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.
c) In Genesis 48:12-20, the economy of grace. In these verses, Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons. But, Jacob gives the blessing of the firstborn to Ephraim instead of Manasseh. Joseph tries to intervene, suspecting that Jacob just couldn't see what he was doing, verse 18. But, Jacob was carrying out the will of the Lord and he knew exactly what he was doing, verses 14, 19. In the kingdom years, Ephraim became the most powerful and populous tribe in Israel, with Manasseh being second. God gave the blessing to whom He chose.
When we see another person being blessed more than ourselves, there is a human tendency to become jealous. We should praise God for the simple fact that He even blesses us at all. We certainly do not deserve it! Any blessing of God on our lives is pure grace. Anytime the Lord uses us at all, it is pure grace. I look around today and I thank God for His grace!
Fourth, Jacob reflected on the promises. Jacob concludes his reflections on his life by remembering and restating the promises of God in his life and to his offspring. These promises belong to us as well today.
a) In Genesis 48:21, the promise of their heritage. God had a plan for Israel. He led them into and one day He would lead them out and back to the land of Canaan. They had a heritage! God had made certain promises to their fathers, and He would keep those promises to His people.
b) In Genesis 48:21, the promise of their helper. “God will be with you.” Jacob dies by reminding Joseph that God will never forsake His people. He will walk with them and stand with them until we leave this world for Heaven.
c) In Genesis 48:21, the promise of their hope. One day God would visit His people and He would, deliver them from Egypt and carry them home to Canaan. That was their blessed hope, and that was just what God eventually did for them.
In conclusion, I praise God that I can remember some great things the Lord has done in my life. I praise Him that I can look around today and see His hand at work right now. I bless His name that I have some promises for my future.
Like Jacob, I can go to my death knowing that I have been blessed by my Lord. What about you? Are you saved? Can you see the providential work of God in your life? Are you surrounded by His blessings today? Are you “standing on the promises”?
If these things are true of you and your life, you are a blessed individual. And, you should take the time to thank the Lord for His blessings and His grace in your life.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9; Genesis 2:7; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Romans 10:13
Now, let's pray...
O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen
Until next time...
Have a blessed week!
Bibi
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