The Death of Jacob

 Genesis 49-50

            At the end of his life, Jacob gathered his sons and gave his blessing, so to speak, to them. I say, “so to speak,” because some of them don’t seem particularly blessed. It’s kind of a blessing, kind of a reflection on his son’s character, and partly a prediction. Of note, Reuben is excluded from the birthright because he tried to claim it early by sleeping with Bilhah, Rachel’s servant and the mother of two of Jacob’s sons. Simeon and Levi are also excluded because of their violent response to the Shechemites. Eventually, Simeon’s tribal allotment would be completely swallowed up in Judah’s and Levi would never receive an allotment because his descendants would be dedicated to the tabernacle. Jacob’s words would be fulfilled (49:7). Judah, the firstborn, become the chief heir, and eventually David, Israel’s greatest king, would come from his tribe. So, would Jesus… A number of the rest of the sons’ blessings indicate something about the character and fate of the tribes that would come out of them. Joseph’s fruitfulness is fulfilled in the Exodus when Ephraim and Manasseh both receive an allotment, making Joseph into two tribes.

            I think the saddest part of the story comes after Jacob dies and the period of mourning is over. Joseph’s brothers assume that Joseph’s forgiveness was feigned and that he would take his vengeance for their earlier bad deeds now that dad was dead. But Joseph reassured them that God used even their misdeeds for the good of many. Remarkable maturity for someone from this family!

            It does get one thinking about the difficulty of receiving forgiveness. In our day, we often hear talk about how important it is that we forgive ourselves. I’m not a fan of that language. The phenomenon is there: we often bear the shame of our sin long after forgiveness is given. But the problem is not that we haven’t forgiven ourselves; the problem is that we don’t believe forgiveness was actually given. When we’re dealing with human interactions, that’s understandable: even the most well-intentioned human who grants forgiveness will from time to time still bring the incident up. They might not hold ill will anymore, but there is the reminder of our failures nonetheless. That’s why it’s important when we are giving forgiveness to one another that we understand that forgiveness contains a promise, “I will not use this incident against you anymore.” However, when we’re dealing with divine forgiveness, we have to take the Lord at His word. Psalm 32:12, for instance: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Or Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” The issue here is not one of self-forgiveness nor is the issue that the giver of forgiveness doesn’t keep his promises. No, here the issue is that we don’t take the Lord fully at His word. The solution is to keep on attending to His word, especially in the holy assembly of His people and to hear over and over again His assurances that He meant what He said, that He has cast our sin so far away that it’s not even a memory for Him. That’s a gift focused in the death of Jesus, in whom our sins were swallowed up forever.