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In this message we come to Jacob's departure, which we shall consider in some detail.
Genesis is a long book, composed of fifty chapters. The record of Jacob's life occupies more than half of this book, about twenty-five and a half chapters. In past messages we have seen how Jacob was born, how he had been selected by God before his birth, and how he was striving, even when he was still in his mother's womb. He continued his striving throughout most of his life. Jacob lived to be one hundred forty-seven years old. In Gen. 49 we read of Jacob's departure from this life. The quality of a man's life and the outcome of his life are determined primarily by the last stage of his life, not by the first stage. It can be compared to runners in a race. It does not mean much that you run well at the beginning of the race. The final result is what counts. In this message we come to the final stage of the life of this wonderful person, Jacob. We need to see how he behaved himself at the time of his departure.
In the Bible, the best departure from this life besides that of the Lord Jesus was the Apostle Paul. When Paul was about to depart, he declared, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me in that day" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). What an excellent departure this was! I hope that we all shall be able to make such a declaration at the end of our race. Although the departure of the Apostle Paul was most excellent, I still love the departure of Jacob, for his departure was lovely and pleasant. Paul's departure was simple. He had no wife and no children. At the time of his departure, he was alone in prison, and there were not many complications. With Jacob, however, there were a great many involvements.
Due to God's ordination and due to his own striving, Jacob became involved with various matters and people. For example, Jacob had four wives: Leah, Rachel, and the two maids. Although his heart was to have Rachel, he was cheated by Laban, who gave him Leah instead. Of course, Rachel was also given to him. In actuality, who was Jacob's genuine wife — Rachel or Leah? According to the record of Genesis, Jacob treated both Leah and Rachel as his genuine wife. He buried Leah in the cave of Machpelah where Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah were buried. By burying Leah in the cave of Machpelah, where the genuine wives of the fathers were buried, Jacob indicated that he recognized her as his real wife. Later, however, as he was departing, he made a sovereign arrangement for Rachel. By doing this, he was telling his descendants that he considered Rachel his real wife. Jacob's life was so involved that it is difficult to determine who his real wife was.
Jacob's four wives gave birth to twelve sons, each of whom was in a category of his own. If there had not been so many categories among Jacob's sons, it would have been impossible for the history of Israel, the history of the church, and even our own personal history to be represented by them. In the prophetic blessing pronounced upon Jacob's twelve sons in chapter forty-nine, we see a representation of the history of Israel, the history of the church, and of our personal history. In order to have such an all-inclusive picture, there was the need of an intricate involvement. Throughout his life, Jacob became involved not only with his wives and sons, but also with various geographical regions. He was born in the good land, but he journeyed to Padan-aram, and later returned to the good land. During the years of his retirement, he moved to Egypt with his family. Each of these moves produced more involvements. Jacob became involved even with Pharaoh, the most powerful person on earth at the time. Jacob had involvement upon involvement, including involvements with the Arameans and the Egyptians. This involvement is also seen in his burial in the good land. The Canaanites thought that it was an Egyptian funeral when it actually was a Hebrew one. A company of Egyptian horsemen and chariots attended the burial of a Hebrew gentlemen. Besides all this, Jacob was involved with God. What involvements Jacob had! If we put together all the portions of the Word that speak of Jacob's involvements, we shall rejoice before the Lord and say, "Praise the Lord! Hallelujah for the Lord's rich word!"
In spite of Jacob's manifold involvement, he departed from this life in an excellent manner. His departure was not only triumphant; it was also pleasant and excellent. No one wants to face death. It is always a sad thing for someone to die. Nevertheless, I am fond of the record of Jacob's departure. In this record we do not have a morbid picture, but a very pleasant painting. After reading this message, I believe that many will be convinced that, in certain respects, Jacob's departure was more inspiring than that of the Apostle Paul. More than three chapters are given to the account of Jacob's departure, but only a few verses are given to Paul's. Let us now consider the details of Jacob's departure, one by one.
Genesis 47:29 says, "And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh." This matter of having Joseph place his hand under Jacob's thigh has been a problem to many Bible students. Jacob did not say to Joseph, "Do your best to get a physician to heal me." Rather, he asked him to place his hand under his thigh. What is the significance of this? No doubt, it means to swear. But why did Jacob not have Joseph raise his hand if the significance of this act were only that of taking an oath? Instead of guessing, we should understand the Bible according to the facts contained in it. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can trace what happened to Jacob's thigh during his lifetime. On the eighth day after he was born, Jacob was circumcised in a part of his body close to his thigh. Then after Jacob had been striving for more than ninety-five years, God came in to touch his thigh. Thus, Jacob experienced both circumcision and a divine touch. First, something was cut off from a place very close to his thigh. That was circumcision. Years later, Jacob experienced a divine touch that caused him to walk with a limp. If you look deeply into the significance of these two things, you will see that both have the same meaning. To be circumcised is to have our flesh, our natural life, cut off. Jacob had been chosen to inherit God's covenant. But his flesh, his natural life, was not useful for this. Rather, it was a hindrance.
Consider the case of Abraham. God's covenant was made with Abraham in Genesis 15. Abraham, however, used his natural strength with Hagar to fulfill God's promise. God was offended by this and stayed away from Abraham for thirteen years. Thirteen years later, God came back to Abraham and seemed to say, "Abraham, I am the all-sufficient One. I will keep My promise. Because I have promised to do something for you, I don't need you to use your natural strength to fulfill what I have promised. What you did with Hagar greatly offended Me. For that reason, I have stayed away from you for these thirteen years. Now I have come to tell you that in My presence you must cut off your natural strength." From that day onward, God's covenant of grace became the covenant of circumcision. The covenant of circumcision means that the covenant of grace cannot be fulfilled or inherited through man's natural strength. If we would inherit God's promise of grace, our natural strength must be circumcised. On God's side, this covenant is a covenant of grace. But on man's side, it has become the covenant of circumcision. God still intends to give grace to man. However, in order to receive God's covenanted grace, we must have our natural strength cut off.
Jacob's circumcision was a sign that he was not supposed to live by his flesh or natural strength. Nevertheless, after his circumcision, Jacob continued striving in the flesh. Although he had been circumcised, he lived as one who had not been circumcised. How much he exercised his strength to inherit God's promise! He used his ability to supplant and to scheme as if he had never been circumcised. Symbolically Jacob had been circumcised; but in reality he was not circumcised until he had been dealt with by God for many years and was in his nineties. For twenty years Jacob was under the hand of Laban, who nearly exhausted Jacob's strength. Eventually, Jacob was forced to leave Laban and return to the land of his father. As he was on the way home, God raised up circumstances to force him to go to Him. Laban was pursuing him, and Esau was awaiting him. Hence, Jacob was in a dilemma, wondering what to do. He seemed to say to himself, "What shall I do? If I go backward, Laban is there. But if I go forward, Esau is there. There is no place to which I can flee." At Peniel he sent away his wives and children and stayed alone to make a deal with God. That night Jacob was so strong in his flesh that he even wrestled with God. The Lord touched Jacob's thigh. That was Jacob's real circumcision. From that time onward, Jacob was lame.
As Jacob was departing this life, he did not have strength even to walk; he could only lie on the bed. As we have seen, Jacob's real circumcision took place when God touched his thigh. Now his lying on the bed was another genuine touch from God. After the first touch, Jacob could no longer walk in a normal way, but now he could not even get out of bed. His natural strength truly had been terminated. Thus, we may consider this as Jacob's third circumcision. At the time of his first circumcision, he was hardly affected at all. After the second circumcision, his thigh was touched and he became lame; however, he could still move. But now at the time of the third circumcision he had no ability to move at all. This was the time for him to trust absolutely in the grace of God. When you cannot do anything, when you are not able to move, and when you have no strength, that is the time for you to trust in God.
Because Jacob had no more trust in himself, he asked Joseph to place his hand under his thigh. This indicated that Jacob recognized that he had no strength to do anything for himself. The only thing he could do was trust in God. His son Joseph, the premier of the leading country on earth, certainly could do something for him. Whatever would be done for him after his death would be done by Joseph. Thus, Jacob asked him to place his hand under his thigh, recognizing by making this request that he had been dealt with by God to the uttermost. Jacob was declaring to the whole universe that he no longer had the strength to do anything for himself. Rather, he could only cleave to God's promise of grace. During his lifetime Jacob had learned one thing: that he could not do anything for himself. All he had done was in vain. Thus, he came to trust in God's promise of grace. To him, that promise was the promise of circumcision, of terminating his natural strength to inherit God's promise.
How vivid and beautiful is this first aspect of Jacob's departure! Here is a man who has learned by experience that it is all a matter of God's grace, not a matter of his doing. He realized that he had been circumcised, that he had been touched by God and was not able to do anything. I repeat, when Jacob was eight days old, he was circumcised. When he was more than ninety years old, he was touched by God and became lame. Now at the age of one hundred forty-seven he was confined to bed, unable to do anything. He surely needed God's grace, which at that time was represented by Joseph and was concentrated in him. Joseph was a type of Christ. Jacob's trust was in God's grace, which is focused in Christ. His confidence was no longer in his thigh. The thigh is the strongest part of our being, for by the strength of our thigh we walk and support ourselves. Jacob's thigh had been circumcised and touched. Because he had been fully terminated, he turned absolutely from his natural strength to God's grace in Christ. Joseph's hand, signifying the hand of God's grace, was not placed upon Jacob's thigh, but under it. This indicates that the strong hand of God's grace bore Jacob for the fulfillment of God's covenant of promise. It was not by Jacob's strength, but by the hand of Joseph, that Jacob was brought to the good land for his actual inheritance. It is not by our strength, but by the grace of Christ that we inherit God's promise.
Humanly speaking, no one wants to die. Jacob, however, viewed his death as sleep (Gen. 47:30, Heb.). Although no one likes to die, everyone enjoys sleeping. It is so sweet to sleep, especially when we are exhausted. For one hundred forty-seven years, Jacob had been bearing a heavy burden and had had many involvements. After enduring so many problems, the time had come for him to rest, to sleep. Thus, he considered death as sleep. He might have said, "My grandfather Abraham is resting. Why should I still strive and bear burdens? I would like to sleep as well."
By viewing death as sleep, Jacob indicated that he believed in resurrection (1 Thess. 4:13-16). He was not a Sadducee, an ancient modernist who did not believe in resurrection. Those who sleep wake up after they have had adequate rest. When I wake up after a good night's sleep, I am refreshed. Jacob has been sleeping for thirty-seven hundred years. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, some of Jacob's descendants, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were arguing whether or not Jacob would wake up, that is, whether or not he would be resurrected. The Pharisees, the ancient fundamentalists, believed in the resurrection, but the Sadducees did not. The Lord Jesus, of course, believed in the resurrection. He even told the Sadducees that God was called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, indicating that He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matt. 22:32). Jacob is still resting, waiting for the time of resurrection. Perhaps when we see him, we shall say, "Good morning, Jacob."
Jacob charged Joseph not to bury him in Egypt, but in the good land (Gen. 47:29-30). Although he gained much in Egypt, he had no heart for that place. His heart was in the good land. Hence, he charged Joseph to bury him in the good land, in the cave of Machpelah, where his fathers had been buried, that he might inherit the good land. By charging Joseph in this way, Jacob indicated that he had faith in God's promise. He believed that one day the good land promised by God would be the portion, the inheritance, of his descendants. As Jacob was departing, he was a man full of faith. I hope that when we depart we also shall be those full of faith, not faith in something vain, but faith in what has been promised by God in His Word. There are many promises in the Bible for us to believe in. When we depart, we must depart in faith in God's trustworthy word written in the Bible.
The record of Jacob's departure makes no mention of his illness, of his will, or of the way he distributed his properties among his children. The good land was their inheritance, and God's promise was the will Jacob bequeathed to his children. Although the record of Jacob's departure says nothing of his illness or bequests, it gives a beautiful, vivid picture of his life in the presence of God. Truly Jacob was a man of God. As he was dying, he was not threatened by death. Rather, because he was full of faith and hope, he enjoyed his departure.
As Jacob was dying, he worshipped God (Gen. 47:31, LXX; Heb. 11:21). It is not an insignificant matter that a dying man would worship God. Jacob worshipped God on the head of his bed. As we have seen, his being confined to bed revealed that he had no more natural strength, that he could not move, and that his trust was completely in God. Hence, he worshipped God there.
The Septuagint translates the last part of 47:31 as "on the top of his staff." In writing Hebrews 11:21 Paul quoted, not the Hebrew text, but the Septuagint. Thus, Hebrews 11:21 says, "By faith Jacob, when dying..worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff." Spiritually speaking, this is very significant. The bed signifies that Jacob had no human strength, but the staff signifies that he was a person filled with the experience of God in his life. The staff was a symbol of Jacob's life of sojourning. In Genesis 32:10 Jacob said, "For with my staff I passed over this Jordan." Throughout his life of sojourning, God was continually with him. Therefore, at the end of his life, Jacob worshipped God on his bed, signifying that he had no strength, and on his staff, signifying that the God whom he worshipped had shepherded him throughout his life.
Jacob's worship of God was not without personal experience. He was not worshipping an objective God. When he was dying, he was worshipping the God whom he had experienced in a full way in a life of sojourning. This was a holy ending of such a matured sojourner. I hope that when we depart from this earth we shall worship God in this way, not worshipping One whom we have not experienced, but worshipping the One whom we have experienced throughout our lifetime. Jacob did not speak about God in a doctrinal way or worship Him in a formal way. He worshipped God according to his experience. The God whom Jacob worshipped was closely related to Jacob's staff, which was a testimony that Jacob was a sojourner on earth (Heb. 11:13) and that he was always under God's leading (Gen. 48:15). According to Hebrews 11:13, he was among those who died in faith expecting one day to enter into what God had promised.
To worship on the top of the staff requires putting the hands on the staff. Jacob asked Joseph to put his hand under his thigh, indicating that Jacob put his full trust in the hand of God's grace. But Jacob put his hands upon the staff, indicating that he recognized that he had always been under God's care of grace throughout his entire life.
In Gen. 48:7 we see that as Jacob was departing he remembered Rachel's sorrowful death. He was faithful to her in giving her son Joseph a double portion (Gen. 48:5-8, 20, 22). What Jacob did with respect to Ephraim and Manasseh in chapter forty-eight was done in remembrance of Rachel. Jacob's first son was Reuben, and his second was Simeon. His eleventh son was Joseph, the first son born of Rachel. Jacob's twelfth son, Benjamin, was also born of Rachel, His first two sons were born of Leah. Jacob, however, desired to make the two sons of Joseph, who was born of Rachel, his first two sons to replace Reuben and Simeon. In Jacob's heart, Joseph's two sons became his first two sons. In chapter forty-eight Joseph presented his two sons to Jacob, and Jacob said, "And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine" (v. 5). In other words, they would replace Reuben and Simeon. Jacob seemed to be saying, "Joseph, your sons Ephraim and Manasseh are no longer for you; they are for me, and I am for Rachel." The birthright among Jacob's sons was shifted from Reuben to Joseph through Jacob's desire to remember Rachel, who was continually on his heart. By doing this, spontaneously Jacob made Rachel his genuine wife. God honored what Jacob did and made it a fact by the allotting of the land at the time the children of Israel entered the good land.
Today among the human race there is no faithfulness between men and women. But in the case of Jacob we see Jacob's faithfulness and honesty toward Rachel. From the day he first saw her, he fell in love with her, and his heart never changed. Jacob was faithful, and God honored this faithfulness. Jacob made Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, his first two sons years after Rachel's death. During all these years, Jacob never forgot her. He was still faithful in his love toward her. Genuine love between a man and woman is always honored by God. If you do not love a woman, you should not marry her. But if you marry her, you must love her, and love her with a love that is faithful and honest. In human society today, this kind of love has been lost. A man may love someone today and change a short time later. Nothing offends God's ordination more than such unfaithful love. If you marry a certain person, you must love her to the uttermost. How good it is to see a dying man who still remembered the one he loved! Jacob's love never changed. Some might have said to him, "Jacob, you are one hundred forty-seven years old, and you are about to die. Rachel has been dead for forty years. You don't need to be concerned about this. Why do you need to call Joseph in and ask him to give you his two sons to replace your first two sons? Jacob, simply rest on your bed until you die." Nevertheless, Jacob's faithfulness to Rachel in making Joseph's two sons his first two sons so that Joseph as his firstborn might inherit a double portion of the land is recorded in God's holy Word. Sovereignly, when the portions of the land were allotted under Joshua (Josh. 24), the portion Jacob gave to Joseph was allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh. This means that what Jacob did was honored by God. A husband should never change his love for his wife. If you are faithful in your love for her, God will honor that faithfulness. This is the highest morality.
In Gen. 48:15 Jacob spoke of God as the One who "shepherded me all my life long unto this day" (Heb.). I hope that all of us will be able to say at the time of our departure that our life was under God's shepherding. May we be able to say, "I was not a sheep without a Shepherd. The Lord has been my Shepherd my whole life long. Now as I am about to die, I am still under His shepherding. I do not choose my own way. He is leading me, and I am under His shepherding."
As Jacob was dying, he prophesied concerning his twelve sons (Gen. 49:1-2). Jacob did not prophesy by saying, "Thus saith the Lord." Rather, he prophesied by being one with God to speak for God. Whatever Jacob spoke became God's word. Jacob was God's mouthpiece. This is the kind of prophecy we find in the New Testament. For example, in 1 Corinthians 7 Paul said that he had no commandment of the Lord, yet he would give his opinion as one who had received the mercy of the Lord to be faithful. Nevertheless, what he spoke was the word of God, for Paul was absolutely one with God, and what he said was God's word. The fact that Jacob could prophesy in such a way was a strong sign and manifestation that he was matured in life. Because he had become one with God, he was mature in life. Therefore, whatever he uttered was God's speaking. He did not claim that God told him to say certain things; neither did he declare, "Thus saith the Lord." He simply spoke, and whatever he said was God's word. God honored it and fulfilled it. God has certainly fulfilled the prophetic blessing pronounced by Jacob upon his twelve sons. This proves that he departed in the maturity of life. His departure reveals his maturity.
In Gen. 50:1-13 we have the record of Jacob's burial, which was more grand than a state funeral. When Joseph went to bury his father, "with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt...And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company" (50:7, 9). This indicates that Jacob was buried in a stately manner, full of honor. Because Jacob was full of hope, expecting to be resurrected, he charged his son Joseph to carry out his burial in a way corresponding to God's promise. Only unbelievers, those who have no faith in God, neglect the matter of their burial. If we have faith in resurrection, we should make a good arrangement for our burial, an arrangement that will show others that we are not without hope. We expect to be resurrected in a glorious manner to meet the Lord.
The departure of the Apostle Paul was triumphant. However, the departure of Paul was that of a martyr, whereas that of Jacob was normal. Martyrdom does not reveal the normal departure of a man who loved God. We see such a normal departure in the record of Jacob. For this reason, although I appreciate the departure of Paul as a martyr, I love Jacob's departure more because it provides a picture of a normal departure of one of God's children. Regarding Jacob's departure, there is nothing sad or unpleasant. On the contrary, everything is encouraging and edifying. Whenever I read these chapters describing Jacob's departure, I am edified and say, "Lord, grant me the grace never to fear death. When death comes under Your arrangement, I want to take it just as Jacob did." This attitude, however, requires the maturity in life. Jacob, who had become Israel, was mature in life. Therefore, he could depart in such an excellent way.
