Day: October 17, 2021

Releasing Him from All His Sufferings

Eventually, near the end of his life, Jacob was released from all his sufferings to see his beloved son Joseph again in his honor and glory (45:1—47:12) and to enjoy a rich and peaceful life with the worship of God in his old age (vv. 11-12, 27-31).

God’s Causing Him to Be Transformed and Matured

Being Transformed from a Supplanter
to a Prince of God

God caused Jacob to be transformed from a supplanter, Jacob, to a prince of God, Israel (35:9-10). The Hebrew word for Israel can bear two meanings—“a wrestler with God” and “a prince of God.” In chapter 32 Jacob was surely a wrestler with God. But from this time to the end of Malachi, the name Israel bears the meaning of a prince of God.

Being Matured  to Bless All People Whom He Contacted

Jacob was eventually matured to bless all people whom he contacted. At the end of his life, Jacob’s job, his profession, was to bless. He blessed Pharaoh (47:7, 10), he blessed Joseph with his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (ch. 48), and he blessed all his twelve sons (49:1-28). According to Hebrews 7:7, the lesser is blessed by the greater. Thus, Jacob’s blessing of Pharaoh indicates that he was greater than Pharaoh. Even Pharaoh the king of Egypt was under him and under his blessing.

Causing Him, with Joseph,
to Go through a Long Period of Suffering 
and to Be Exalted as the Sovereign Ruler 

Going through a Long Period of Suffering

God caused Jacob, with Joseph, to go through a long period of suffering (37:4-36; 39:1-23; 40:12-15, 21-23; 41:9-37). Joseph was actually a part of Jacob. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are a sign of the Triune God. God the Father was expressed in Abraham, God the Son was expressed in Isaac, and God the Spirit was expressed in Jacob. In other words, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph should be considered as one saint of God. This is why the Bible tells us that God is the God of only these three persons: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Thus, Joseph should be considered only as a part of Jacob.

Being Exalted as the Sovereign Ruler

Eventually, God caused Jacob with Joseph to be exalted as the sovereign ruler (vv. 39-44) in order to rule over all of Egypt (45:8b-9a) and supply all the earth with food (41:55-57; 42:5-6). Apparently, this was done by Joseph. Actually, however, what Joseph did was a part of Jacob’s life. This is God’s working on Jacob with Joseph.

Genesis is a book on the creation of man to consummate with three persons—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—issuing in a people named Israel. The next thirty-eight books of the Old Testament, from Exodus to Malachi, are all on Israel. Israel was to usher in the incarnation of Christ so that God’s real move on the earth could begin.

Taking Care of the Burial of Deborah

Jacob had to take care of the burial of Deborah, his mother Rebekah’s nurse, without seeing his mother (v. 8). God did not allow Jacob to see his mother, but he had to take care of the funeral of his mother’s nurse. This, no doubt, was a suffering to him.

Suffering the Death of Rachel

Jacob later had to suffer the death of Rachel (vv. 16-20). Rachel was the wife of his choice, the one whom he loved the most. She died while she was delivering Benjamin. While she was dying, she called his name Ben-oni, which means “the son of my sorrow.” But Jacob immediately called him Benjamin, which means “the son of the right hand.” This became a prophecy in typology. Christ in His incarnation, on the one hand, was the Son of sorrows from His birth through His human life on the earth (Isa. 53:3). Then through His resurrection and in His ascension, He became the Son of the right hand of God. Thus, “from Ben-oni to Benjamin” is the story of Christ accomplishing His redemption from His incarnation through His ascension. Benjamin represents God’s accomplishment of His complete redemption through Christ, first as a Man of sorrows and second as the One at the right hand of God.

Suffering His Son Reuben’s Incest 
with His Concubine Bilhah

Jacob had to suffer his son Reuben’s incest with his concubine Bilhah (Gen. 35:22). What a shameful thing this was for Jacob! Because of Reuben’s defilement, he lost the birthright, which was then given to the sons of Joseph (49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1-2).

Suffering the Loss 
of His Beloved Son Joseph

Genesis 37 speaks of Jacob’s suffering the loss of his beloved son Joseph. Jacob’s sons conspired to do away with Joseph, and then they lied to Jacob about what had happened. For many years Joseph was separated from Jacob, who thought that he had died.

Suffering the Danger 
of Losing Simeon and Benjamin

Because of the famine in the land, Jacob was forced to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain. As a result, he had to suffer the danger of losing his son Simeon and his youngest son Benjamin (42:18— 43:15; 44:9-34). When Jacob’s sons returned from Egypt with the grain, Jacob learned that Simeon had been detained there (42:24), and he also learned the sad news that Benjamin had to go to Egypt. After he heard this, he said, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me” (v. 36). Although Reuben promised to bring Benjamin back, Jacob did not listen to him. Rather, he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. And if harm should befall him on the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol” (v. 38). Eventually, due to the severity of the famine, Jacob was forced to send his youngest son with his brothers to Egypt to buy grain (vv. 4, 36; 43:1-15). What a suffering this was to Jacob!

CHAPTER NINE

GOD’S HISTORY IN TIME 
(FROM THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE 
TO THE FINAL JUDGMENT 
AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE—
GENESIS 1:1—REVELATION 20:15)

(8)

WORKING ON HIS ELECT 
FROM ABRAHAM TO JOSEPH

(4)

WORKING ON ISAAC AND JACOB WITH JOSEPH

(2)

Scripture Reading: Gen. 32:24-32; 35:1-15; 47:7, 10-12, 27-31; 48:8-9, 15-16, 20; 49:28; 41:39-44, 55-57

OUTLINE

2. Working on Jacob with Joseph:
   3. Having destined him to live a struggling life all his days:
      8. To escape from his uncle Laban according to the indication of the complaint of Laban’s sons and the attitude of Laban, and according to God’s instruction—Gen. 31:1-21.
      9. To face the trouble of Laban’s pursuing and overtaking him while he was under the secret care and protection of God as the Angel of God—Christ (vv. 10-13)—vv. 22-55.
      10. To face the trouble of his brother Esau’s dealing with him—32:1-23; 33:1-16.
      11. To wrestle even with God, who changed his name from Jacob to Israel, indicating that God would transform him from a supplanter (Jacob) to a wrestler with God, or a prince of God (Israel), and who made him limp—32:24-32.
      12. To face the trouble of the case of his daughter Dinah—ch. 34.
      13. To be purified with his family from the foreign gods and their ornaments that they loved, according to God’s commandment, so that they might serve God with an altar built at Bethel, where God changed his name from Jacob to Israel and promised him that:
          1. He as the All-sufficient God would make him fruitful and multiplied; a nation and a company of nations would come from him, and kings would come forth from his loins.
          2. He would give to him and his seed the land He gave to Abraham and Isaac—35:1-15.
      14. To take care of the burial of Deborah, his mother Rebekah’s nurse, without seeing his mother—v. 8.
      15. To suffer the death of Rachel at the birth of Ben-oni (“the son of my sorrow,” named by Rachel while dying at his birth), Benjamin (“the son of the right hand,” named by Jacob the father)—vv. 16-20.
      16. To suffer his son Reuben’s incest with his concubine Bilhah—v. 22.
      17. To suffer the loss of his beloved son Joseph—ch. 37.
      18. To suffer the danger of losing his son Simeon and his youngest son Benjamin—42:18—43:15; 44:9-34.
   4. Releasing him from all his sufferings:
      1. To see his beloved son Joseph again in his honor and glory—45:1—47:12.
      2. To enjoy a rich and peaceful life with the worship to God at his old age—vv. 11-12, 27-31.
   5. Causing him:
      1. To be transformed from a supplanter (Jacob) to a prince of God (Israel)—35:9-10.
      2. To be matured to bless all people whom he contacted:
         1. To bless Pharaoh—47:7, 10.
         2. To bless Joseph with his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh—ch. 48.
         3. To bless all his twelve sons—49:1-28.
   6. Causing him, with Joseph:
      1. To go through a long period of suffering—37:4-36; 39:1-23; 40:12-15, 21-23; 41:9-37.
      2. To be exalted as the sovereign ruler—vv. 39-44:
         1. To rule over all of Egypt—45:8b-9a.
         2. To supply all the earth with food—41:55-57; 42:5-6.