Genesis 49.29-33-Jacob's Burial Instructions and Death
Tuesday April 24, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 49:29-33-Jacob’s Burial Instructions and Death
Lesson # 318
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 49:29.
This evening we will complete our study of Genesis 49, which gives us the record of Jacob bestowing prophetic blessings and antiblessings upon his twelve sons as well as giving instructions for his burial and this chapter also records his death.
In Genesis 49:1-4, we read where Israel pronounced an antiblessing on Reuben, his firstborn because Reuben committed adultery and incest with his concubine Bilhah.
Then, in Genesis 49:5-7, he pronounced prophetic anti-blessings upon Simeon and Levi for the massacre of the city of Shechem.
This was followed by Genesis 49:8-15, which records Israel pronouncing prophetic blessings upon Judah, Zebulun and Issachar.
Next, we saw the patriarch pronouncing prophetic blessings upon the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah as well as praying to God for deliverance, which is recorded in Genesis 49:16-21.
On Sunday morning we studied Israel’s prophetic blessings on Rachel’s sons, which are recorded in Genesis 49:22-27 as well as the narrator’s conclusion, which is recorded in Genesis 49:28.
This evening we will complete our study of Genesis 49 by noting verses 29-33 and note Jacob’s burial instructions and death.
Genesis 49:29-30, “Then he charged them and said to them, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site.’”
In Genesis 47:27-31, we saw Israel requesting that Joseph bury him in Canaan and now here in Genesis 49:29-30 he makes this request of all his sons.
Israel’s request to be buried in the land of Canaan is repeated for the third time (1st time: Genesis 47:27-31; 2nd time: Genesis 48:21-22; 3rd time: Genesis 49:29-30) and expresses his faith in God’s promises that Canaan would be the home of the Israelites by requesting burial in the Cave of Machpelah.
The expression gathered to my people” is always used with reference to believers (Abraham in Genesis 25:8; Ishmael in Genesis 25:17; Isaac in Genesis 35:29; Jacob in Genesis 49:33; Aaron in Numbers 20:24, 26; Deuteronomy 35:20).
It does “not” refer to Israel’s death and burial because he was not buried with his ancestors but rather it refers to his life after death with those who before him died in faith such as Adam, Eve, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and his father Isaac.
Prior to the ascension of Jesus Christ, which is recorded in Acts 1:9-11, Old Testament saints when they died went to a compartment of Hades, which the Lord Jesus Christ referred to as “Abraham’s bosom” in Luke 16 and called “Paradise” when He spoke to the thief on the Cross.
“Paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom” is known as “Sheol” in the Old Testament and “Hades” in the New Testament and the Scriptures reveals that it contains four compartments:
(1) Paradise: the place of the departed souls of believers before the resurrection of Christ (Lk. 23:39-43; Eph. 4:8-9) who were transferred to heaven after the resurrection and ascension of Christ (Eph. 4:10).
(2) Torments: the temporary fire for the souls of unbelievers from all dispensations (Lk. 16:19-31) who will be transferred to the Great White Throne Judgment that concludes human history and from there will be cast in the Lake of Fire forever (Rev. 20:11-15).
(3) Tartarus: the abode of the fallen angels of Genesis 6 who had sex with women in order to corrupt the human race and prevent the incarnation of the Son of God (1 Peter 3:18-22; 2 Peter 4; Jude 6).
(4) The Abyss: the place of imprisonment for the demons who violated certain rules for angelic creation and will be released during the Tribulation (Lk. 8:30-31; Rom. 10:7; Rev. 20:1-3).
Prior to the resurrection, ascension and session of the Lord Jesus Christ, Old Testament saints when they died did not go to the third heaven but rather to Paradise.
These Old Testament saints such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ascended with Jesus Christ into heaven as part of our Lord’s triumphal procession as victor in the angelic conflict and were part of the booty from our Lord’s victory that was accomplished through His death and resurrection.
Ephesians 4:8, “Therefore it says, ‘WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.’”
“He led host a host of captives” refers to Old Testament saints that were temporarily residing in the second compartment of Hades called Paradise (Lk. 16; 23:43).
Genesis 49:29-30, “Then he charged them and said to them, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site.’”
Israel states to his sons that the cave of Machpelah was purchased from a man named “Ephron the Hittite.”
“Ephron” was the son of Zohar and was among the crowd of Hittites who had come to the gate of the city where Abraham negotiated the purchase of the burial plot with the Hittites and was an outstanding individual among these people.
The Hittites were present in the land of Canaan during the time of Abraham according to Genesis 15:19-21.
They reached the zenith of their power sometime later and still possessed great power at the time of Solomon a thousand years later according to 2 Chronicles 1:17.
The Hittites served as witnesses to the sale of the cave of Machpelah to Abraham.
Genesis 23 records that for four hundred shekels of silver, Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite “the cave of Machpelah” as a burial plot for Sarah, himself and his descendants.
The name “Machpelah” means, “double” or “split cave.”
“Machpelah” is located west of modern Hebron on the outskirts and the city is situated on the eastern slope of a narrow valley, which runs north and south and is surrounded by rocky hills.
“Hebron” was located nineteen miles southwest of Jerusalem, on the way to Beersheba and was 3,040 feet above sea level, dominating a beautiful and fruitful area and ancient oaks (terebinths) filled the area.
Israel states that the cave of Machpelah was “before Mamre, in the land of Canaan.”
“Mamre” was located in “Hebron” as indicated by the phrase “that is, Hebron” in Genesis 23:19 and received its name from its owner, Mamre, who was a chief of the Amorites who sought security in an alliance with Abram and was blessed because of Abram (cf. Gen. 14:13, 24).
The “oaks of Mamre” evidently were a grove of terebinth trees that was owned by Mamre, which was the location of Abram’s encampment when he came up from Egypt according to Genesis 13:18, 14:13 and 18:1.
By buying the land for his dead, Abraham was forced to realize that God’s promises do not end with this life.
God will do far more than He has done in this life, which is the confident expectation of all who die trusting in the Lord.
In this life, the patriarchs such as Abraham and Sarah were sojourners but in death they were heirs of the promise and occupied the land.
The patriarchs died not receiving the promises and yet they died in faith (see Hebrews 11:39-40).
Abraham bought this gravesite in the land of Canaan in the confident expectation of God fulfilling His promise to give the land of Canaan to himself and his descendants as a permanent possession.
He died trusting that God would fulfill His promise and so we too must die in faith.
As Abraham had a confident expectation of God fulfilling His promise in the future for him and his descendants, so believers today are to be confidently expecting God to fulfill His promises of a resurrection body and rewards for faithfulness.
Our natural inclination is to mourn death as the world does but in reality death should be the time of a believer’s greatest demonstration of faith because the recipient of God’s promises has a hope and a glorious future beyond the grave.
Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself referred to Abraham when discussing the resurrection with the Sadducees (see Matthew 22:31-32) and stated that God’s promises demand resurrection.
Not only was Sarah buried at this site but so also were Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah were buried there as well (See Genesis 25:9; 35:27, 29, 49:31; 50:13) and all of these demonstrated their faith in God’s promises by being buried with Sarah.
This little piece of land gives promise of the whole land and makes clear that Abraham and Sarah were aliens and strangers seeking a homeland, which they will receive at the resurrection of Old Testament believers.
With this purchase of land in Hebron facing Mamre, Abraham wanted his descendants to know that he had believed in the Lord’s promises.
The presence of the grave site among his descendants in later years would be mute but eloquent testimony to them all that Abraham was sure that God would fulfill His promises.
Genesis 49:31-32, “There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah, the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.”
Notice that Leah and not Rachel was buried alongside Jacob in the cave of Machpelah along with Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah indicating that Leah and not Rachel was Jacob’s right woman in the eyes of God.
The Word of God indicates that Leah and not Rachel was Jacob’s right woman as indicating by the following.
First of all, when we take into consideration the providence of God, which expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God, we must acknowledge that, in spite of the deceptiveness of Laban, Leah was Jacob’s wife.
Furthermore, it was Leah, not Rachel, who became the mother of Judah, who was to be the heir through whom the Messiah would come (cf. 49:8 12) and it was Levi, a son of Leah, who provided the priestly line in later years.
It seems noteworthy that both Leah and her handmaid had at least twice the number of children as compared to Rachel and her maid (cf. 29:31 30:24; 46:15, 18, 22, 25).
Also, the superiority of Leah to Rachel is also revealed in that Rachel died at an early age, yet she was the younger sister and when she died, she was buried on the way to Bethlehem (35:19) and yet when Leah died later, she was buried with Jacob in the cave at Machpelah (49:31).
Another thing to consider is that the Word of God reveals that Jacob chose Rachel based solely upon looks and did not take into consideration her character as Abraham’s servant Eliezer did when selecting Rebekah for Isaac.
Lastly, when choosing Rachel, Jacob never prays for guidance from the Lord in order to discern if Rachel was his right woman as Abraham’s servant Eliezer did when choosing Rebekah and neither did he test the character of Rachel as Eliezer did with Rebekah!
“The sons of Heth” is another term for “Hittite” and were descendants of Heth who was the son of Canaan (See Genesis 10:15), who were in possession of Hebron that Abraham was residing in at the time.
Genesis 49:33, “When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.”
The fact that Jacob “drew his feet into his bed” indicates not only that he had been sitting on the side of his bed when he pronounced the prophetic blessings upon his sons and their descendants but also that he was in full possession of his faculties at the moment of physical death.
“Breathed his last” is the verb gawa (uw^G*) (gaw-vaw), which pictures the act of drawing one’s last breath.
Israel was 147 years of age when he died according to Genesis 47:28.
Israel’s death like the death of every human being is the sovereign decision of God based upon the integrity of God and omniscient knowledge of all the facts.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, “There is an appointed time for everything, a time for everything under heaven. There is a time to be born and there is a time to die.”
Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.”
Ecclesiastes 7:1b, “The day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.”
The death of a member of the human race is not ruled by chance or fate but according to the providence of God, which expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
“Physical” death is the separation of the human soul (and in the case of the believer, the human spirit also) from the body (Matt. 8:22; Rom. 8:38-39; 2 Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:20-21; 2:27, 30).
At physical death, the unbeliever’s soul is separated from his physical body and goes to Torments, a compartment of Hades (Luke 16:19-31).
The unbeliever’s physical body goes to the grave but is raised up at the Great White Throne Judgment (Dan. 12:2; Rev. 20:11-15) and their ultimate destiny is the Lake of Fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:12-15).
The believer’s physical body goes to the grave at physical death and his soul and human spirit go to be face to face with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).
The believer will receive a resurrection body at the resurrection of the church, which is called by theologians, the “rapture” of the church (See 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) whereas Old Testament saints like Jacob will receive their resurrection bodies at the Second Advent of Christ (See Ezekiel 37).
Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross has freed us from the fear of death.
Hebrews 2:14-15, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Physical death cannot separate the believer from the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39).
The Lord promises to wipe away every tear from our eyes caused by the death of loved ones.
Isaiah 25:8, “He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”
Life hangs by a very fine thread that can be snapped at any moment, which should motivate the believer to use the remainder of his time on earth to execute God’s plan for his life to become like Christ.
Romans 14:8, “For if we live, we live because of the Lord and if we die, we die because of the Lord therefore whether we live or whether we die, we belong to the Lord.”
