Jacob

Key: Blue=Bible, Red= Author notes

Hebrews 11:21

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Good Day World!

So, I spent a good chunk of my time just reading through the life of Jacob in Genesis. It is funny how Hebrews 11 mentions only the blessing of Joseph’s sons, which came at the end of Genesis. It was still a fun read though. I also have my Step 2 CS this Tuesday (7/31/18). Praying I Pass!!!

As mentioned in the Isaac post, Jacob was the second son of Isaac, who received the blessing from Isaac using deceit. Nevertheless, God blesses Jacob, eventually naming him Israel, which is where the name Israelites comes from (To reduce confusion, I will use Jacob’s name, instead of Israel in this post). Jacob ends up having 12 sons (and 1 daughter) who each represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph, who is mentioned in today’s verse, was the first son of Rachel (Jacob’s second wife). He ends up getting sold into slavery and eventually takes up the highest position in Egypt (true rags to riches). Joseph then brings Jacob and his family to dwell in Goshen. Jacob was 130 years old when he came to Egypt (They didn’t have cars or planes too. You are never too old to travel!). He met and blessed the Pharaoh and lived with his family in the land of Goshen. After 17 years, he got ill and was reaching the end of his years.

There are two major scenes that Hebrews 11 points out. The “worshipped as he leaned on top of his staff” is seen in Genesis 47:31. It was here where Jacob called his son Joseph to promise and swear that he will bury Jacob where his fathers Isaac and Abraham were buried. This was so important that he requested his son Joseph to swear on it. When Joseph swore, Isaac worshipped God in his 147-year-old body. We can see how important this was to Jacob, as his last words were literally instructions for his children on exactly where to bury him and how to get there.

In this scene with Joseph, we see that even though he is old and dying, Jacob still had the same faith in God that he had in his younger days, perhaps even more faith. He still worshiped the Lord with all his heart at the end of his life. This is something I strive to do as well. My question to you is this: Will you be able to worship God in your last days? As we see here, Jacob did!

The other major scene comes in the entire chapter of Genesis 48. Please read it, but to summarize: Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh was the oldest and Ephraim was the younger. (I read this scene and I just love it. I love how human these people are. It is so easy to imagine what it might have looked like…) To summarize, Joseph received word that his father was dying, so he brought his two sons to receive blessings from his father. Joseph bows his head but then places Ephraim (younger) towards Jacob’s left hand and Manasseh (older) towards Jacob’s right hand. But Jacob crosses his own arms and places his right hand on Ephraim and left hand on Manasseh. He then blesses them, but Joseph, as it says in Genesis 48:17, was displeased. (Also, Jacob was not able to see during this time. Gen 48:10)

Genesis 48:17-20

When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so, he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” He blessed them that day and said,

“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So, he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Here is where Hebrews recounts the faith of Jacob. And one can compare this to the experience Jacob had with his father Isaac. Jacob deliberately blesses Ephraim and says that the younger should be greater than the older, however both children shall be great. We see this with Jacob and Esau, as God ordered that Jacob (the younger) become greater than Esau (the older). One can argue that this is foreshadowing the coming off John d Baptist and Jesus the Messiah. They both came with the angel Gabriel sending the message, and they both were born around the same time, with Jesus coming about 6 months after John is born. But John understood he must become lesser while Jesus becomes greater, even though his disciples did not understand. It’s not the same (they are cousins not brothers), but it is a nice reference. However, for Jacob to do this shows that he understood the will of God, and proceeds to bless the younger child.

One can argue that this is foreshadowing the coming off John d Baptist and Jesus the Messiah. They both came with the angel Gabriel sending the message, and they both were born around the same time, with Jesus coming about 6 months after John is born. But John understood he must become lesser while Jesus becomes greater, even though his disciples did not understand. It’s not the same (they are cousins not brothers), but it is a nice reference. However, for Jacob to do this shows that he understood the will of God, and proceeds to bless the younger child.

The faith Jacob has is (in my opinion) different than Isaac’s faith.

In Hebrews 11:20-21, both Isaac and Jacob are mentioned because of how they blessed their children. Isaac may have blessed based on his sensuality; his smell, love of food, and lack of eyesight, but he did not revoke the blessings of Jacob and he even instilled a more negative blessing on Esau. He showed that God’s will supersedes his will, and that he had the faith not to revoke Jacob’s blessing (if that is even possible). I know in my life there are times where I want things to go a certain way, and when something messes up (or maybe God is the one intervening) I would still find out how to get it my way. But Isaac surrendered to God’s will and showed a repentant heart by the blessing he gave to Esau. Jacob also had the same lack of eyesight when he blesses the sons of Joseph. But even still, he was able to give the correct blessing to his children. Joseph even tried to use deceit in bowing his head and purposefully putting his kids in the right position to receive their blessing. He even challenged his father’s decision on who should receive the blessing, but Jacob stood firm in what he believed. His faith that the younger will be greater than the older was shown and he was held righteous because of it.

I want to end off with the final blessings Jacob gives to the rest of his children, specifically to Judah. In his blessing he says something, I feel, was extremely important.

Genesis 49:8,10

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you…

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until he to whom it belongs shall come

and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

So as one can see, in verse 10, Jacob says the scepter will not leave Judah until he whom it belongs to shall come. Who is he? Who is that in the line of Judah who will receive the obedience of all nations? I think we know the answer to that, even if Jacob didn’t.

Thanks for reading!

With love,

Ayodeji Alaketu