Mountain Movers

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. (Hebrews 11:21)

Jacob also enjoyed world-changing cataclysmic acts of God throughout his life, particularly in his old age. And a lot of the amazing things that happened in his life also involved Joseph.

In Genesis 37:3, it says that Jacob "loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age." It was evident to all of Joseph's brothers that none of them had as strong of a relationship with their father as Joseph had. Jacob treated Joseph differently, doing special things for him, and creating what we in modern times recognize as a sibling rivalry among the brothers. So great was their jealousy that they considered killing Joseph. Then they reasoned that that was too harsh. After all, Joseph was their brother. So, being the compassionate brothers they were, they decided to sell him into slavery instead. They didn't tell their father this, of course. Instead, they concocted a story that they found his blood-soaked robe and Jacob jumped to the conclusion that Joseph had been eaten by a ferocious animal. After realizing this, Jacob began to experience the greatest grieving of his life. He put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. He refused to be comforted and said to his family "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." Death appeared to be the only solution to stemming the feelings of loss and hopelessness.

Yet it was through this seemingly hopeless situation that God used Joseph's life to inspire, influence, and save a whole nation of lives. Through the difficult times that lay ahead God further refined the characters of both Jacob and Joseph to equip them for what would ultimately take place.

Many years would pass by and the tale of two parts of the same family would evolve.

For Jacob and his remaining sons there was an endurance of the hardship of famine. Jacob still held to the promises of God and was a faithful leader for his family even when the future looked bleak. God had given him the name Israel, even though he didn't realize the full significance of that.

In Egypt, Joseph was prospering in his role as Pharaoh's right-hand man.

Interestingly, even though Joseph's experiences seemed to be sharply contrasted to what Jacob and his brothers were going through, God continued to work to ultimately bless them all as he had promised.

The time finally came when the unimaginable news was revealed to Jacob. His sons reported that while they were away on their trip to Egypt to get food for their starving family they had reunited with Joseph. Not only that, their father's favorite was one of the most powerful men in the world... and, much more than that, he wanted to be reunited with his old father!

Jacob,in spite of his failing health, made the long, arduous trek to Egypt to meet up with the son he had earlier been convinced was dead. When they finally embraced, surely the years of separation, hopelessness and heartache fell away.

Joseph, Jacob, and the rest of the family present had their feast. They shared old stories and caught up on the latest news. The room undulated with all the emotions of this unexpected and miraculous family reunion.

The remaining and crowning task for Jacob before he left this earth was to give his final blessings. As he was dying, he called for each of Joseph's two sons-- he had never expected to see Joseph again, let alone his children. I think it likely that he could have chosen to bestow this blessing upon one or more of his other grandchildren, but here we see evidence of Jacob's patient and enduring faith-- waiting to have God show him how he was going to play out the promise that he had given in spite of all indications that Joseph was dead.

In Genesis 48:16ff, he blessed both of the boys by asking God for them to increase greatly upon the earth-- reaching out his hand to the younger son to give him the greater blessing. This displeased Joseph. After all, the firstborn traditionally received the greater blessing. So Joseph, figuring his father made a mistake, tried to get him to change his decision. However, Jacob refused to change, saying the younger son will be greater and that his descendants will become a group of nations.

Jacob didn't follow cultural or logical trends but was led by faith in what God had planned.

And this is what God planned: Ephraim, the younger son, birthed a group of nations. The descendents of Manasseh were blessed as a great nation. Jacob claimed God's promises and passed them on to others, even into his dying days.

Jacob worshiped as he leaned weakly upon his staff. He worshiped God even when his health was failing and he was on his deathbed. Up until the end of his life, Jacob got his strength from God and relied on God for his decisions and as his #1 priority. By having such a strong reliance on God, he was able to confidently believe that God had the best plans for the future. For those reasons, God blessed Jacob and his descendants for generations to come.

In the next chapter, we will look at Joseph, who went from the pit of the dungeon to the pinnacle of power, yet never wavered in his faith or compromised God throughout all of his ups and downs. By faith he changed the destinies of millions and became a visionary to a nation that would eventually convert their oppression into freedom. God eagerly rescued Joseph from all his troubles, gave him wisdom, and enabled him to gain the goodwill of the king of Egypt because his faith pleased Him.