The final days of the patriarchs was now approaching. Jacob had lived in Egypt for seventeen years, including five years of famine followed by a dozen years of peace and prosperity. He had lived an adventurous life, struggling and finally succeeding in the battle of faith. Jacob had stolen his brother’s birthright and deceived his father into granting him his brother’s blessing. Jacob was forced to flee to Mesopotamia, but along the way God promised to bless him. In distant Mesopotamia Jacob married two wives, fathered twelve sons, and accumulated great wealth. When he returned to Canaan, the land of promise, he was bereaved of his favorite son Joseph. As it turned out, God had preserved Joseph, elevating him to great power in Egypt. Joseph saved his father and his whole family by providing food for them during a period of extreme famine. Jacob relocated to Egypt where, at the age of 147 he now faced death. But Jacob, over all those years of doubt and despair, had become a man rich in faith. When he pronounced a blessing on Joseph’s two sons, Jacob revealed a heart that had learned to submit to God. Interestingly, the author of Hebrews chooses from Jacob’s entire colorful career this blessing on Joseph’s sons to summarize Jacob’s life (Hebrews 11:21). Jacob’s reflective faith teaches us that God wants us to learn to trust Him every day to the very end of our days. Specifically, we can draw four lessons from Jacob’s final blessing on Joseph and his sons. |
