Jacob was gone. Joseph and his brothers mourned his death. Joseph ordered that his father be embalmed as Egyptians were embalmed before burial. We know from archaeology that ancient Egyptians, at least the wealthy, were mummified for burial. So Joseph was following the customs of his time when he had Jacob embalmed. The Bible tells us that it took 40 days for the embalming to be completed. We are also told that the Egyptians mourned him for 70 days. This tells me that the Israelites were respected because of Joseph. They were not slaves at the beginning of their time in Egypt.
Tag: Jacob
JACOB BLESSES HIS SONS
Jacob lived another seventeen years after he arrived in Egypt and died at the ripe old age of one hundred and forty-seven. Very venerable to the Egyptians. Before he died, he called all of his sons together to bless them. These blessings were not only expected but were important to the inheritance of the father’s wealth and authority. We will find as Jacob blesses his sons that, again, birth order does not count.
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OFF TO EGYPT, AGAIN
The prophecy given to Abraham, that his descendants would be “strangers in a country not their own,“ is beginning to come true. (Genesis 15:13) I am sure that Jacob and his sons knew of that prophecy, but it was not foremost in their mind at the time. They may have thought that it wasn’t their generation that it applied to. A lot of us look at prophecies in scripture and think that it is not our generation that it applies to. Don’t be so certain. We do not know the future. At any rate, Jacob and all of his family, possessions, servants, flocks and herds packed up and headed to Egypt.
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TAKE ME INSTEAD
Let’s look back at what Joseph has done to his brothers and why. But let us also be aware that Joseph was being led by God. His actions were God’s tools to bring the brothers to repentance. First, he accused them of being spies and threw them in prison. I would imagine that they were interrogated, not only by Joseph but by his servants as well. I mean, if you are arrested as spies, wouldn’t you expect to be carefully questioned? Then, rather than letting them all go, he kept Simeon as prisoner and sent the rest back to Jacob. Then he sent them away with the money they had paid for the grain secreted in their grain sacks. What is he trying to find out? What is God doing in the brothers’ lives?
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OK, LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN
The famine is getting worse, in Egypt and surrounding lands. Soon the food purchased on the first trip to Egypt is running low and to survive, the sons of Israel must go back to purchase more food. Jacob said that they had to go back to Egypt, BUT the brothers dared not go back without Benjamin. The ruler had told them that they would not see his face if he was not with them. Jacob was not about to let his youngest son, by his beloved Rachel, out of his sight.
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WHAT’S YOUR NAME AGAIN?
Bethel is the place where God reminds Jacob that his name is now Israel, “he struggles with God’. Jacob had his trials and difficulties but his new name shows his desire to stay close to God. God confirms the covenant again to Jacob that nations will come from him, and that kings will be his descendants. He also promised the land of Canaan again to Israel and his descendants. Jacob set up another pillar and poured wine and oil on it to consecrate it. The oil and wine used was probably the best that Jacob had in respect for the place it was poured upon. It is from this point on that we see Jacob called Israel.
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LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE
This is where we find Jacob. He is returning home to his father. He knows that Esau is probably still there and, for all he knows, Esau may still want to kill him. It’s been twenty years since he left in a panic, fleeing to Laban for sanctuary. What is Esau going to do when he sees Jacob? Jacob has 12 children, 11 sons and 1 daughter, 2 wives, huge flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, camels and donkeys and possibly hundreds of servants, shepherds and herdsmen. He can’t sneak back home. The huge mass of life that he is travelling with is impossible to hide. Jacob is shaking in his sandals. How can he protect his family and possessions?
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AND THE RACE IS ON
Jacob packed up all he had, put his wives and children on camels and drove all his livestock away from Laban and his home without even telling him they were leaving. Laban was not even at home when he left. Laban didn’t know that Jacob and his family had left until three days after the fact. He gathered his clansmen and took off after them. It took them another seven days to catch up to them.
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MORE KIDS, MORE TRICKS
Laban profited quite well with the marriage of his sister, Rebekah, to Isaac. Then, he used his daughters as bargaining chips when Jacob wanted to marry Rachel. He defrauded Jacob by giving him Leah as wife when he thought he had been working 7 years for Rachel. Laban received another 7 years of service for the hand of Rachel. And all this time, because of Jacob, he was blessed by God. Laban tried to make sure that the amount livestock that Jacob requested from him as wages was as little as possible.
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TURNABOUT’S FAIR PLAY
The wedding plans were made. People were invited to celebrate. A feast was had by all. As was custom, Laban brought the heavily veiled bride to Jacob and they retired to their tent for the wedding night. In the morning, the fur hit the fan. Jacob found Leah in his bed instead of Rachel. Immediately he went to Laban and called him out on the deception. “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:25b). He was outraged. He had worked for 7 years just to be able to marry Rachel, but he married Leah instead.
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GOD GETS ANOTHER HELPING HAND
When Isaac told Esau that he was going to bless him, he asked Esau to hunt wild game and fix it form him the way he liked it. So, Esau followed Isaac’s request and went hunting. Rebekah had heard Isaac’s request. To me, it seems obvious that she knew what Jacob had done to Esau regarding Esau’s birthright. Jacob wanted that blessing and Jacob was going to get that blessing if she had anything to do with it. She told Jacob what they were going to do to ensure that Jacob was blessed as if he were the first born. He hesitated at first, fearful of being caught tricking his father. But Rebekah took on herself any consequences for the deception.
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WATCH WHAT YOU’RE GRABBING
The story of Jacob and Esau is one of a third generation on the road to creating the nation of Abraham’s descendants that was promised. It shows us how God works in spite of one’s life choices. Let’s face it, Jacob was a jerk. He took advantage of his brother’s hunger to steal his brother’s birthright as the eldest son. He tricked his father into giving him the blessing that should have been given to the first born, Esau. He had been so devious that he had to run for his life. The story of the relationship between Jacob and Esau reads almost like a soap opera. It is full jealousy, favoritism, greed, deception and hostility between brothers.
