It is now 17 years later. The famine is over, yet Joseph is still Prime Minister. The focus of the story shifts to Jacob's death. He calls for Joseph to present a deathbed request. But it is not any run-of-the-mill favor (make my favorite stew, or bring me fruit from Canaan, or let me see God's creation one last time from a ride in your chariot), but a matter of life and death. He wants to be buried in Canaan. In keeping with the occasion's solemnity, he asks Joseph to put his hand "under my thigh." One commentator noted, "The privacy of the thigh and its association with begetting made the oath particularly solemn." So, Joseph takes the oath. Israel bowed (worshipped) in gratitude as he leaned against the bed's head. According to Hebrews 11:21, this is an act of faith—he believes that God will keep his covenant: give him seed after his death, and his descendants will return to the promised land.
A short time later, Joseph receives the word that he no doubt has been waiting for since he had sworn to his father to bury him in Canaan: Jacob is dying and wants to see him. The final days of a patriarch are a decisive phase in the family's life, and the blessing of a dying patriarch has irrevocable authority. As Jacob begins his "last will and testament," he gives the basis for this authority: "God Almighty appeared unto me." As we noted before, God did not appear to Jacob's sons. Neither to Joseph nor Judah. It will be more than 400 years before He appears to one of the children of Israel when he reveals himself to Moses. So, this is significant. Jacob is God's appointed spokesman, the trusted vessel to pass on the covenant promises and blessings to his family.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
