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

    "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.