Brother Jacob
"By
faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and
worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff."
(Hebrews 11:21)
Jacob was a believer, a man of true faith. He is
held before us by the Spirit of God as an example of faith. He had great weaknesses, great faults, and great failures, as
all believers do. Yet, Jacob was a man who believed God. He was a prince with
God, a man chosen in eternal love, washed in the blood of Christ, robed in his
perfect righteousness, born of the Spirit. Jacob was one of us.
Jacob’s Life
Above
all the other patriarchs, Jacob’s life was marked with trials and temptations;
and he therefore furnishes us with many illustrious testimonies of faith.
The life
of faith is not like the shining of the sun on a calm and clear day, meeting
with no resistance from the atmosphere. Rather it is like the sun rising on a
foggy morning, its rays struggling to pierce through and dispel the opposing
mists.
Jacob
lived by faith, but in the exercise of faith he encountered many struggles. His
was an uphill struggle from beginning to end. In spite of all his faults and
failings, Jacob dearly prized his interest in the everlasting covenant. He
trusted God and highly esteemed his promises. He believed and cherished his
Redeemer.
We all are as full of error as Jacob. We are all like Jacob, if we are born of God,
a people with two warring natures. But that which is most prominent about this
man Jacob is this fact—He believed God. He valued the birthright Esau despised.
– Jacob esteemed Christ and his salvation of greater value than anything else.
He coveted the promises of God’s free, covenant grace in Christ. He chose the
Lord to be his God (Gen. 28:21). Though he was terrified at Esau,
nevertheless, he sought the Lord, pleaded his promises, and obtained the answer
of peace (Gen. 32:12). Though he cringed at the feet of his brother, he
prevailed as a prince with God (Gen. 32:28). Like his fathers Abraham and
Isaac, “by faith he sojourned in the land
of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents” (Heb. 11:9).
Jacob’s Maturity
Like all
believers, Jacob grew in grace. During the closing days of his life, His faith
was brightest. When he gave permission for
Benjamin to accompany his brothers on their second trip to Egypt, he said, “God almighty (or God the Sufficient
One) give you mercy before the man” (Gen.
43:14). He rested his soul on his God. It is delightful to see the conduct of
this man, this believing sinner, when he was brought before Pharaoh, ruler of the
greatest empire of the world. Instead of groveling
before him, we are told, “Jacob blessed
Pharaoh” (Gen. 47:7). He acted as a child of the King of kings (Heb. 7:7).
He carried himself with dignity as the ambassador of the Most High God.
Jacob’s Deathbed
When he was dying, this old believer blessed his
sons, leaving them a rich, rich heritage by faith. Jacob’s benediction upon his sons was a great act of faith
(Gen. 48:8-20). We can learn much from its circumstances.
Jacob
exercised faith in his old age and in the immediate prospect of death (Gen.
47:29; 48:21). In spite of all his trials and conflicts, the weaknesses and
discomfort of old age he was vigorous and firm in faith, believing God with his
dying breath. His natural decay did not cause any abatement in his spiritual
strength.
In his
blessing upon Joseph and his sons Jacob solemnly recognized, pleaded, and
asserted the covenant made with Abraham (Gen. 48:15). “And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham
and Isaac did walk.” – This is the
very core and essence of faith. —Faith lays hold of God’s covenant (2
Sam. 23:1-5), and draws strength from it (Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 3:21, 23; 2 Cor.
4:15). Faith walks in the light of God’s everlasting covenant of grace as the
foundation of all blessedness (Eph. 1:3). It is the charter of our heavenly
inheritance. It is the guarantee and security of our eternal glory.
A clear,
firm view of Christ and the covenant of God’s grace in him secures the hearts
of dying saints and gives them a peaceful end, and a God-honoring exit from
this world of suffering and sin (2 Sam. 23:1-5). Jacob declared that all
temporal, as well as spiritual mercies were his by virtue of the covenant. -- “The God which fed me all my life long unto
this day” (Gen. 48:15). John
Owen, wrote, “It was a work of faith to retain a precious thankful remembrance
of divine providence in a constant provision of all needful temporal supplies,
from first to last, during the whole course of his life.”
Jacob never forgot God’s mercy to him in redemption,
calling Christ, “The Angel which redeemed me from all evil” (Gen. 48:16). His faith was in Christ, the Son of God, the Angel of the
Covenant (Gen. 32:24-30), who redeemed him. In his old age Jacob’s hands were guided wittingly, understandingly,
so that he blessed the sons of Joseph and pronounced their future according to
the purpose of God (Gen. 48:14, 16-18). He desired the blessings of God’s grace
in Christ for his sons rather than the wealth of Egypt. Even in his dying hour,
when the will of his most favored relative crossed the will of God, the old man
wisely taught Joseph to yet submit to the will of God (Gen. 48:18-19). Jacob
understood, at this stage of life, that obedience to God was the great thing.
He had heard from God (Rom. 10:17). He believed God. And he submitted to God.