Famous Last Words: Jacob's Death & Burial

Obser&nvations from reading & study

V.48:4 - INdicaonetions that the blessing of God is branching out through the blessing of Manasseh and Ephraim

Becoming a family of peoples” - Duguid

Jacob’s Faith -

These two events represent Jacob’s life as a whole, which from beginning to end was lived in the tension between God’s wonderful promise and the bitter reality of life’s pain and struggle. God promised Jacob at the beginning of his life’s journey the blessing originally given to Abraham, that he would become a mighty and harmonious people, receiving the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. Yet during his own lifetime, Jacob himself did not see anything remotely close to the fulfillment of that promise. He first received the promise while leaving the land, running for his life; and when he returned to Canaan, that return was marked, not by triumphal entry into his promised inheritance, but by an experience of the deepest pain and loss possible, the death of a beloved spouse.

It is therefore a mark of Jacob’s profound faith that at the end of his life he wished to pass this blessing on to his grandchildren. Though he had not seen it fulfilled himself, Jacob still believed passionately that the promised blessing mattered and was worth passing on.

It is therefore a mark of Jacob’s profound faith that at the end of his life he wished to pass this blessing on to his grandchildren. Though he had not seen it fulfilled himself, Jacob still believed passionately that the promised blessing mattered and was worth passing on.

POSSIBLE OUTLINE - FAITHFUL LAST WORDS FOR THE LIVING

Cling to your faith in God’s Promises

Embrace your Place in this life

It is

therefore a mark of Jacob’s profound faith that at the end of his life he wished to pass this blessing on to his grandchildren. Though he had not seen it fulfilled himself, Jacob still believed passionately that the promised blessing mattered and was worth passing on.OT.O