- Scripture: Genesis 49:29–50:14
- The Anchor: “Then Jacob breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” – Genesis 49:33 (ESV)
In today’s passage, the death of Jacob. Jacob appears in Genesis 25, which means he is alive for half of Genesis, and he is finally dying now. Before he dies, he tells his sons that he is now being gathered to his people and he commands them to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah. After he finishes his commandment, he breathes his last breath and dies. After that, Joseph weeps and kisses his father’s face, and he commands the physicians to embalm him. All of Egypt mourns the death of Jacob as well for 70 days. When the weeping period is over, Joseph asks the household of Pharaoh if he can go bury his father like Jacob commanded him to, and Pharaoh allows him to. All of the house of Jacob went together to Canaan, and they mourned heavily on the way there, even attracting the attention of other people, who said that they were mourning grievously. They buried Jacob there and returned.
I want to look at the very small phrase where Jacob says “I am to be gathered to my people” in Genesis 49:29. He is talking about his ancestors, like Abraham and Isaac. This means that Jacob believed that there was an eternal life after death and that he would meet them again. I don’t remember there ever being talk about eternal life in Genesis, but it is cool to see that Jacob did believe in an eternal life and that God brought him up to heaven with his ancestors after his death.
Another small thing is that Jacob buried Leah in the Cave of Machpelah, but he buried Rachel on the way to Ephrath. We know that Jacob loved Rachel far more than he loved Leah, but then why would he bury Leah in the Cave of Machpelah instead of Rachel? I think it has something to do with how Leah’s son Judah is carrying down the Messianic line. Although Jacob loved Rachel and he loved Joseph and Benjamin as well, Leah and Judah were ultimately the ones who carried out God’s covenant.
Finally, we see today that it is good and okay to mourn. Many sad things happen in life, like death. Death is such a real thing even though it seems so far away at times. When relatives of close friends die, it is a sad time, but we should remember that Jacob’s sons mourned, and even Jesus mourned when Lazarus died. It is good to honor people in death, so Joseph and the others buried Jacob according to his request. This is a little corny but in Spiderman (I watched Tobey Maguire recently, so let’s go with that), when Uncle Ben dies, Peter and Aunt May are so sad. However, Peter always remembers Uncle Ben’s words to him: With great power comes great responsibility. Throughout the three movies, Peter wrestles with that idea, but he honors Uncle Ben’s words extremely highly, and it comes out in his actions as well.
Reflection
- You reflected on the phrase “gathered to his people” as an early indicator of Jacob’s hope in the afterlife. How does the belief in being “gathered” to God and your predecessors change the way you view the finality of death in this life?
- You noted that mourning is not only “okay” but biblical, even citing Jesus’s grief for Lazarus. How can you more intentionally honor the people in your life—both those who have passed and those still here—in a way that honors God?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the hope of being gathered to You and to Your people. While death is a painful reality in this fallen world, I am comforted knowing that You are the God of the living. Give me a heart that is honest in its grief, yet filled with the hope of the resurrection, and help me to honor those You have placed in my life with the same reverence that Joseph showed his father. Amen.