The Faith of Jacob.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we will be in Hebrews 11:21. We will be studying the faith of Jacob. Last week we saw Isaac’s faith in blessing Jacob and Esau, and part of that was really seeing a lack of faith in Jacob. If you recall, Jacob lied and tricked his father into giving him the blessing. If this showed anything, it shows us a lack of faith in Jacob. But he did not stay in this condition. God grabbed hold of Jacob, literally. And Jacob became an incredible man of faith. He went from the deceiver to a faithful man who loved and served God well. And we come to Jacob now on his deathbed. So with this in mind, would you stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word.

Reading of the Passage:

Hebrews 11:21 “21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time to you. May our time in Your Word be a fragrant offering to You. Sanctify us and make us holy through Your Word. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Text Idea:

Our text this morning is incredibly beautiful. At the end of his life, on his deathbed, Jacob did two things. As he was dying, Jacob, by faith, worshipped God and blessed the sons of Joseph.

Sermon Idea:

This morning we will see the transformed life of Jacob from the deceiver to a man who lived and died by faith.

Transition:

So let’s do a little introduction. Last week we examined the faith of Isaac. And in that we saw how Jacob received the covenantal blessing through lying and deceiving. He earned his name “Jacob” which means “deceiver.” But what happens next? Well, let’s look at the life of Jacob.

Introduction:

The Life of Jacob.

Explanation:

Esau wants to kill Jacob once Isaac dies, so Isaac sends Jacob to Laban, Rebekah’s brother.

Immediately after Jacob deceives Isaac and Esau, Esau begins to plot. Esau’s plan is to wait for Isaac to die and then kill his brother. But the plot is discovered by Rebekah. So Rebekah and Isaac decide to send Jacob to Rebekah’s brother Laban. And Isaac once again blesses Jacob as he sends him away to save his life. Listen to Genesis 28:3–4“3 “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.””

And Jacob flees. He runs away from the wrath of Esau. He flees into the wilderness. And while he is in the wilderness we read an interesting account.

God confirms His acceptance of Jacob in a Dream.

Genesis 28:10–17

10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

This is such an incredible account. I wish we had more time to cover this. But suffice it to say that in this dream, God confirms that Jacob is His chosen son. Jacob truly has God’s blessing. And notice, God chose him before he had done anything. Jacob is not faithful. He is a liar and deceiver. But God here calls him and promises to be his God. And God says Jacobs children will cover the East, West, North, and South. The descendants of Jacob will cover all the world. I believe this is a clear reference to the final fulfillment of the Great Commission. This is to say that Jacob is the father of the faithful. God is here promising to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Jacob worked for Laban 7 years in order to marry Rachel, but Laban gives him Leah instead.

There is so much that happens after this, but here is the short version. Jacob arrives at his uncle Laban’s land. And he meets a girl, Rachel. They fall in love and Laban tells Jacob that if he wants to marry his daughter Rachel he must work for him 7 years. So Jacob does. But Laban tricks him and gives him his older daughter Leah instead. He then says Jacob must work another 7 years for Rachel. So Jacob does. And he marries Rachel.

Jacob begins to have children and God blesses Jacob.

And God blesses Jacob. Everything he does is successful. He has children and God begins to prosper Jacob in incredible ways. But God speaks to Jacob and calls him to return home.

Jacob returns to the promised land but is afraid of Esau.

Genesis 31:3“3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.””

So Jacob packs up and leaves. There is a lot of drama that ensues but Jacob, his wives, and his 11 boys at this point leave. And they head for home. But there is a problem. Esau has grown and become a ruler of a land of his own. And Jacob is afraid because the last time he saw his brother he had just deceived him and stolen the blessing. The last he heard about his brother was that Esau wanted to kill him. We then read this account:

Genesis 32:3–8“3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ” 6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.””

Things are looking really bad. So Jacob sends Esau a present hoping to buy some favor. And then night falls. And Jacob goes off by himself. I imagine he needed space to think, maybe to pray. But then we find one of the most interesting accounts in Scripture.

Jacob wrestles with God.

Genesis 32:24–30 “24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.””

From this moment on, Jacob is never the same. He literally wrestled with God. This theologically is called a theophany. It is a time when God appears physically. And Jacob’s name is changed to Israel which means “he who wrestles with God.” No longer is Jacob the deceiver. And God blesses Israel. He and Esau are reunited and to Israel’s surprise Esau has forgiven him. They weep and embrace and part as brothers once more.

Then we come to account of Joseph the son of Israel. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Joseph is sold into slavery. His father believes him to be dead. Joseph is used by God to save much of the world including his family and they are reunited. Israel who was Jacob is brought to Egypt to be with his long lost son.

Argumentation:

But the big thing to remember here is God chose Jacob, changed him, and blessed him.

God Chose Jacob, Changed Him, and Blessed Him.

This is lesson of Jacob’s life. It was the grace of God that changed Jacob and made him a man of faith. There was nothing in Jacob that made God choose him. It was all of grace. And now we come to the end of his life. And this is what the Apostle is talking about. Listen again to our passage.

Transition:

Hebrews 11:21“21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”

The Apostle gives two things that Jacob did by faith. He worshiped on his death bed and he blessed the sons of Joseph. So let’s examine the first.

By Faith Jacob Worshiped on His Deathbed.

Explanation:

The Apostle is here referencing Genesis 47:27-31.

Jacob calls Joseph to him at the end of his life and makes Joseph swear an oath to bury him in the promised land. Jacob knew that someday God would bring his children out of Egypt and bring them home. And Joseph agrees. And indeed Joseph and his 11 brothers did bury their father with their mothers in their home. But we then read Genesis 47:31 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.”

The ending there in verse 31 where it says “he bowed himself on the head of the bed” is what the Apostle is quoting in our passage. Specifically Paul is quoting the Greek translation called the Septuagint. In the Septuagint it correctly phrases the word bowed as “did obeisance” which means to worship. And it says specifically that Jacob bowed in worship over his staff, not just his bed. So what Jacob did is he bowed down to worship God leaning on his staff. This is what Paul is saying here. And think of the beauty of this. Jacob is old and dying. He cannot even stand. But in this state, he bows, leaning on his staff to even be able to do it, and worships God. What a picture of faithfulness.

Argumentation:

And in doing this:

Jacob Demonstrates His Faith By Worshiping on His Deathbed.

This is such a moving picture of faith. Jacob as he is nearing death summons his strength and bows in worship to God. Joints creaking, he leans on his staff and worships. The worship of aged saints is a beautiful thing. I hope and pray that as we all one day face our death, we can face it in worship like Jacob did.

Transition:

And now we come to the second point of our Hebrews passage.

By Faith Jacob Blessed the Sons of Joseph.

Explanation:

After Jacob bows in worship there is apparently some time that goes by. And Jacob is continuing to get worse. He is dying. But Genesis 48 tells of the account of Jacob blessing the sons of Joseph. And this is such a beautiful passage. So let’s walk through it. The first thing we see in Genesis 48 is this:

Jacob is Dying and Remembers God’s Promise.

Genesis 48:1–4“1 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’”

Jacob is here remembering the time of the ladder to heaven when at Bethel by the city of Luz God spoke to him and blessed him. On his deathbed, Jacob is remembering the promise of God. Next:

Jacob Claims the Sons of Joseph as His Own.

Genesis 48:5 “5 And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.”

This is an interesting switch. Jacob, speaking to Joseph, tells him that he is in essence adopting Joseph’s two sons. He is claiming them as his own. They will not be like grandchildren to him but like children. And we see this play out in Exodus. In the twelve tribes of Israel the tribe of Joseph is not really mentioned. Instead we have the half tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. They became their own half tribes because Jacob adopted them. Next in this account we see:

Jacob Blesses Joseph.

Genesis 48:9–16 And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,

Bless the lads;

Let my name be named upon them,

And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

It is so touching to see Israel rejoice over seeing Joseph’s sons. He says that he never hoped to see Joseph again. He thought Joseph had died for so long. But God was so kind to Israel. He not only saw Joseph again. But he saw not only Joseph but Joseph’s sons as well. And Jacob praises God for this. Such a beautiful passage.

Jacob then places his hands on the boys. Notably Israel places his right hand on Ephraim’s head who was younger symbolizing a greater blessing. But then Jacob blesses Joseph. But he is not only blessing Joseph. He is blessing Joseph and the boys. And again this is a prophetic blessing just like Isaac had given Jacob. But we notice in this:

The Younger is Blessed Above the Older.

Genesis 48:17–22 17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob, when laying his hands on the boys heads actually crossed his arms so that his right hand would sit on the younger boy’s head. The younger was to receive the greater portion of this prophetic blessing. But it is not just Ephraim, Joseph also receives a greater blessing than his brothers.

Just like Jacob received the greater blessing so also the younger here receive the greater blessing. And this gets to a central theme in Scripture.

Argumentation:

God Likes to Bless the Unlikely.

You have all heard me say many times that God is the Great Story teller. He is telling His story on the canvas of reality. And God loves certain themes. He loves to tell the story of victory in the face of certain defeat. Think of Joshua and Jericho, David and Goliath, David’s mighty men who would fight armies by themselves. God loves that theme in the story He is telling.

But another theme God loves is the unlikely hero. God loves to take those who no one would think of and bless them and use them. He did this with Jacob. Who would have ever thought Jacob would have been this great hero of the faith? He did it with Joseph. Joseph was the least of his household. We see this in Gideon who was a nobody from a nowhere village. We see this in David who the youngest and least likely to amount to anything in his family. Yet he became the king and forbear of the Messiah.

And we see it here. God is again turning the tables. It is not the oldest children who receive the greater blessings. It is the youngest. God loves to use and bless the unlikely.

But there is one more thing I want to touch on. It confused me for most my life but is now one of the most beautiful things in this text. I want you to see:

The Beauty of Jacob’s Adoption of Joseph’s Sons.

For years I wondered why Jacob did this. Honestly it just seemed so unfair. On the surface it seems like Joseph is losing his place in the children of Israel. Joseph no longer has a tribe named after him. It confused me. And then I became a father. And now I understand.

Joseph had lived in exile. He married an Egyptian. And this is a big deal. He married a pagan. That is 99 times out of 100 a really bad thing. Now Joseph didn’t have a choice, but he still must have been worried. What if Jacob rejected him? He had to live as an Egyptian for so long. His family was Egyptian. Would his father even accept his children? Would his father ask him to put away his foreign wife and children? Joseph would have known how destructive it was that Esau, his uncle, married a pagan. So would Jacob accept his children? What a terrifying thought?

But not only did Jacob accept Joseph’s children, he took them in as his own. And remember, Jacob is not just a man. He is the head of the nation of Israel. For all time his descendants will be known by his name, Israel. And Israel accepts Joseph’s sons. He adopts them. They become his children and have a heritage forever. This is beautiful.

Becoming a father changed so much of my thinking. I cannot imagine the joy Joseph must have felt. Imagine having a prophetic word from God that your children would have an eternal heritage. That their memory will never die. That they will eternally be numbered in God’s people. That God will bless them and their children. This is all any godly parent could want. This is a beautiful promise.

Transition:

This is the account that the Apostle is referencing in Hebrews 11:21 “21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”

Conclusion:

So let us ask our question.

How Did Jacob Live By Faith?

Jacob lived by faith by in his death worshipping and blessing his grandchildren.

Visualization:

This is such an incredible legacy. The faith of Jacob truly carried him to his death. And as he lay dying, his reaction was to worship and pass on blessing.

Reiteration:

God truly changed this man. It is incredible. He went from a man who lied and cheated to get what he wanted to being a man of such rich and deep faith, to die with worship and blessing on his lips. I pray we can all be like Jacob. I pray we can all have the faith of this man.

Application:

So how can we live by faith like Jacob?

How Can we Live By Faith Like Jacob?

To answer this, I see three things we must do.

1. Repent and Trust in Christ.

This is the first thing we must do. What was it that changed Jacob from being a liar and deceiver? It was an encounter with the Lord. He turned away from his sin, which is what repentance means. He turned away from that life of sin and he trusted in God and the promise of a savior. It really is that simple. He repented and believed.

So what about you? Have you turned from your sin? Have you repented? Have you abandoned your sin and trusted in Christ? If you have not, this is step one. There is no hope outside of Christ. Turn now from your sin and trust in Christ. If you do this, you will be saved. Romans 10:9–10“9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

It really is that simple. Confess and believe and you will be saved. But perhaps you are here and you are saved. You are trusting in Christ. That is a blessing. But the Christian life does not end with salvation. Salvation is the beginning. That is step one. But this is a life long journey.

How can we live by faith like Jacob?

2. Live a Life of Faith and Someday Die By Faith.

This may sound simple, but it really is a rather complex thing. It entails a lot. So let me attempt to simplify this. If you want to die by faith like Jacob, you must begin now. People do not just instantly become these great pillars of faithfulness. You do not just instantly become someone who lays on their deathbed praising God and blessing your offspring. That takes living in faith.

In times of crisis, the walls are broken down. You see behind the curtain of person’s real character. And this is true of death too. And for Jacob, as he lay, likely in pain and suffering, what shined forth from him was worship and blessing. We should all want that. But that doesn’t just happen. It is the fruit of a life of faith.

We must begin now. We must commit, right not to living by faith. We must commit right now to trust God in everything. To submit to Him in everything. We must today begin to love His Word.

Illustration:

One of the most impactful things that sticks with me about my grandfather’s death, is his love and knowledge of the Scriptures. Right before he died, we all gathered in his room as a family. My cousins, siblings, parents, aunts, and uncles. And we read Scripture. We sang hymns. And my grandfather could not speak above a whisper. But when we read Scripture, his lips moved. He was reciting every passage we read to him. He knew them by heart. When he died, his Bible smelled like him.

Things like that don’t just happen overnight. They are the fruit a life of being in the Word. You cannot recite Scripture on your death bed if you are not in the Word every day before then.

Jacob lived a life of complete trust in God. He lived a faithful life. And that enabled him to lay on his deathbed in faith. Beloved, if we are to emulate Jacob’s faith, we must start now. We must purpose in our hearts to live faithfully now. We must commit every day to honor God.

And it starts in the small things. Do not discount those old Sunday School answers. Read the Bible. Pray. Give. Go to church. So often we want to be faithful in the dramatic and big things, but we are not faithful in the small things. Christians often talk about how if we were ever in true persecution where the state demanded we deny Christ or die, we would be faithful. We often assume that if we were in a nation like China where the church had to meat underground that we would be part of the church. But many of us don’t prioritize church in a free nation. What makes us think we would prioritize it when it’s illegal to go? Jesus was very clear in the parable of the talents. Only those who are faithful with the small things, will be faithful with the big things.

So we must start being faithful in the small things. You will never hide God’s Word from a state that tries to destroy it if you are not spending time in it now. You will never pray boldly like Daniel if you are not praying now. Jacob did not become faithful on his deathbed without being faithful in his life. So beloved, let us as a people commit to being faithful in our lives. Let us be faithful men, women, and children so that one day, we may die faithfully.

3. Bless Your Children, Even in Death.

Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph. But if we were to keep reading we would see he blessed all his sons. Jacob on his deathbed blessed his children. And these were prophetic blessings that lasted long past his death. We too must bless our children even beyond death.

I spent a good amount of time on this last week. So I won’t rehash all of that. But let me explain how we bless our children even in death and even beyond death. We may not be prophets, but we can bless those who live after us with a legacy of faithfulness. And this applies to all of us. Weather you have children or not, you can leave a legacy of faith. You can bless those who come after you. We must not live as if we are the last generation to ever exist.

We must look beyond our lives, just as Jacob did. What can you build that will bless those who come after you? All of us can do this. We can all leave a legacy of faith for those who come after us. For parents and grandparents this obviously means leaving a legacy for your offspring like Jacob did. But make no mistake, it applies to all of us. Focus on building things that will bless future generations. Do not work and build for your own pleasure only. Work and build to bless those who come after you.

Appeal:

My charge is this. Live a life of faith like Jacob. How? Live by faith, die by faith, leave a legacy of faith.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction: